New Country, New School, New Identity
by wagahaiwaneko
Summary: Haruhi's heiress cousin moves to Japan and briefly becomes host before being attacked by corporate enemies. It's a race against time as the host club explores Kyouya's past and fights for her safety. Kyo/OC. Summary in Ch1.
1. Arrivals and Questions

**SERIES SUMMARY: (Note: it's getting very complex and the beginning chapters are starting to be a little odd compared to the direction of the story. They will be re-edited at a later time to match the theme, but not by much. Mind you, I began writing this story three years ago... And it's totally different, HAHA...)**

**TITLE: New Country, New School, New Identity**  
**GENRE: Action/Adventure, Crime, Drama, Romance, Tragedy, with bits of fluff and comedy thrown in. But mostly DRAMMMAAAAA**  
**PAIRING: Kyouya/Original character. **

**Hanami Fujioka had been living comfortably in America as an everyday citizen..Until her stepfather died and handed over a huge conglomerate in her care. She is confused as to why he had hidden his identity as a major businessman from her, but nevertheless travels to Japan to attend the presigious Ouran Academy (which is run by her stepfather's friend.) She discovered her biological cousin, Haruhi, and decided to join a strange, strange club in order to help her cousin. Her life seems to be gathering itself together when Hanami receives threats from an underling. Shell-shocked, Hanami is unaccustomed to the dirty business tactics but quickly resolves to toughen up. However, as an old childhood friend and a power-hungry underling turn up in Japan with no intention of returning to America without the company, Hanami's life is put into danger. As a series of violent attacks almost shut down the activities of the host club, they begin to realize that this business with Richard Price, Hanami's greedy second-in-command, extends beyond their generation and unlocks a dark part of their past. Kyouya is forced to remember the death of his mother, and the host club members begin to see just how involved their families are in this corporate game.**

**Which such close proximity to such a profitable, spunky, and attractive individual as Hanami, Kyouya begins to wonder why her matters concern him so much. Is it because she just may be his intellectual equal? But as events inflate and the threat becomes larger than any host could ever imagine, he must decide exactly what Hanami means to him as the events might just be the end of everything he knows.**

"Alright, Dad, I'm leaving for Ouran Academy!" Hanami Fujioka said cheerily at a picture of her late stepfather, Stephen Rosenthal. It was strange that she was so cheerful, considering that weeks before she had discovered that her life so far had been a lie. However, she was hopeful as she stepped out of her 2-K apartment and set off for school.

Taking a look down at herself for a quick check, she sighed, still feeling very flat. Her simple black slacks and white collared dress shirt did nothing to make her look more feminine, if not; she looked more like a boy than usual. Hanami shook her head to get rid of these negative thoughts and began to walk to school.

Trudging along silently, Hanami was lost in her thoughts. The past few months had been rough for her. She had been born and raised in America, and lived 15 years of happiness. And now, she had been yanked out of her perfect world and forced to move to Japan. Just surviving her freshman year in high school was hard enough!

'Seriously,' she thought. 'Why do ninth graders have it so hard?' About two months ago it had been February the 4rth, Hanami's birthday. Looking back on it, Hanami decided that it was the worst birthday of her life. She had turned 15, and her beloved stepfather (the only father she had ever known) had died in a car accident.

Two days later, the reading of his will took place. As it turned out, her modest and humble stepdad, Stephen Rosenthal, was not the owner of a small computer shop, but instead a multimillionaire and CEO of the Pineapple computer company. Hanami's world had been shattered when she received his Pineapple business. She had to learn the ways of marketing, economics, and computer engineering, and she had to leave her friends, her home, and her high school in order to move to Japan and enroll a rich-ass, elitist school called Ouran Academy.

And the worst part? Her mother, Amelia Kazami-Rosenthal, was staying in America to supervise the business until Hanami came of age to fully take charge.

But Hanami couldn't blame her mother. Amelia had lost two husbands now- Takahashi Fujioka (Hanami's biological father) and Stephen Rosenthal (the man who had raised Hanami as his own.)

Even so, it was hard to move to another country where you couldn't speak your primary language. Thankfully, Stephen had encouraged Hanami to practice her Japanese with her mother. Otherwise, well, Hanami might not actually be saying "Where is the bathroom?"

'Ahh,' thought Hanami. 'Why does it hurt so much to think about Dad?' she asked herself, referring to her stepfather. However, it was the memory of his presence that allowed Hanami to move to Japan willingly. When she heard of her new responsibilities as the future CEO of Pineapple Computations, Hanami had initially broken down and cried, freaked out by all of these duties.

But, she asked herself what her father would expect her to do. She knew in her heart, that, were he still alive, Stephen would be happy to see Hanami leading his company. And, it wasn't that Hanami _disliked _business, it was just that she was only 15, and hadn't even finished the ninth grade yet.

But Hanami had boarded the Japan Airlines plane from the Los Angeles Airport, telling herself, "I'm doing it for Dad. I need to keep his memory and legacy alive." She owed so much to the man who had raised her as his own child, as he had chosen to live frugally and keep his wealth a secret in order to raise her as a modest, responsible child, rather than a rich, spoiled, and conceited teenager. He could have lived a glamorous life, but instead chose to marry Amelia and live in a small Southern California city, becoming a father to the then 3-year-old Hanami. He could have spent his time traveling and tipping back expensive wines, but he wanted to live like any other average father.

And now Hanami had come to the gilded gates of the prestigious Ouran Academy, the gold lettering in Japanese kanji. She stopped, fighting a sudden urge to run away, or to cry, and she stood there, staring. In America, it was only two months before Hanami's freshman year would be over, yet here she was, already starting her "sophomore" year. Of course, in Japan, the American sophomore year was actually the 1st year of high school.

"Why do they have to start school in April?" Hanami complained as she pushed open the gates and stepped through. "There. I'm in. Can I go back home now?" she said towards nobody in particular. Taking a deep breath, Hanami hoisted her bookbag and walked sadly to the superintendent's office.

Tamaki Suou looked outside of the Third Music Room's window to see one boy trudging dejectedly towards the main building.

'That's weird," he commented. "Does that guy know school's over?"

"Hmm?" Kyouya Ootori looked up from where he was typing on his Mac.

"That guy," Tamaki pointed. "Do you know him?" Usually Kyouya had some sort of a document on any new student.

"Actually, no," said Kyouya, surprised to discover a new student. "That's strange." He shrugged it off.

"You know, he actually looks a bit like Haruhi!" Tamaki cried as the stranger disappeared behind doors.

Kyouya smiled a little. Ever since Tamaki started hanging around with Haruhi, he acted a bit crazier, yet more parental and somewhat mature in his craziness. Shaking his head a little, Kyouya pondered what types of disasters could occur if the two actually started _dating._ But, the intelligent boy had seen that this event could take a while. Those two were extremely slow in discovering their feelings for each other. Just then, the very girl that Kyouya had been speculating about tapped his shoulder.

"Senpai, don't you have to go to the superintendent's office about now?"

"WHA? KYOUYA! Why do you need to talk to my father?" Tamaki freaked out, gesturing wildly.

"I'm paying the club dues." Kyouya said curtly. "Anyway, shouldn't this be the _president's _job?" The bespectacled boy threw a pointed look over his shoulder, causing Tamaki to retreat to his corner of woe. Exasperated, Kyouya pushed open the door. Right before it closed, he heard Haruhi deadpan, "Nice one, senpai." He smiled a little, amused by this little comment, and proceeded to walk down the long corridor.

Hanami stepped into Superintendent Yuzuru Suou's office, feeling a bit nervous to meet her stepfather's childhood friend. Not to mention, the man was an elite, and that was scary enough already. However, Hanami soon realized that she need not have worried, as the superintendent welcomed her very, very warmly.

"Good afternoon, child! I am Yuzuru Suou, the superintendent of this lovely school. It's a pleasure to meet you, Fujioka-san. I've been waiting for you. So, how is your stepfather? My gosh, it's been a while since I last talked to Stephen. Considering that I was his friend only during the summer when I went to France. At any rate, since he and I were such good friends, you may call me your oji-sama, alright? Say it with me, o-ji-sa-ma. Okay, give me your papers and then I'll give you a pass to the seamstress' office so you can get your uniform. Tell your father I said hello!"

Walking out of his office, Hanami was still confused. How could her stepfather befriend an insane person like that? Hanami was so preoccupied in her thoughts that she collided with a tall boy who was heading towards the superintendent's. Her bookbag dropped to the floor and fell open, papers flying everywhere.

"Ahh!" she cried, scurrying to scoop up the papers.

Kyouya scowled. Who was this clumsy boy? This klutzy boy was not wearing the school blazer. A paper fluttered by Kyouya's feet, so he bent over to pick it up. He took a sharp breath when he swept his eyes over the page.

The paper appeared to be the boy's driving learner's permit. Hanami, who had recently turned 15 that February, had begun to learn how to drive much earlier than her fellow peers.

The permit told Kyouya that this boy was not a boy but instead a girl. The picture on the paper indicated that the person scurrying around in front of him had once had medium-length jet-black hair. However, it was the person's name that interested Kyouya the most.

This girl was in fact Hanami Fujioka, the unexpected heiress to the Pineapple throne. Now, _that _was something worth Kyouya's attention. Perhaps this person was related to Haruhi?

"Here. I believe this is yours." Kyouya held out the sheet, tilting his head a little for politeness. The girl abruptly stood up and sank into a very deep, respectful bow.

"I'm sorry! My apologies!"

"It's fine….Fujioka-san."

Still bending over, the girl whipped up her head and searched Kyouya's face with suspicious, darting eyes.

"Um. How do you know my name?"

Kyouya gently shook the paper he was extending to her. Hanami Fujioka's eyes widened and she angrily snatched the paper out of his hand. She stuffed the paper into her bookbag, glared at the boy in front of her, and marched off to get her uniform fitting. Kyouya followed her with his eyes, contemplating what this could mean.

"How rude." Hanami muttered under her breath. She shoved open the seamstress' door, using more force than necessary. Not looking where she was going, Hanami ran head-first into a body. Sputtering apologies, she saw that she had bumped into an extremely tall boy who had amazingly grey eyes….. The boy nodded his forgiveness as a small blonde boy peeked around him.

"Oh! Good afternoon, newcomer-san!" he exclaimed. "I'm Honey! Well, actually, my name is Mitsikuni Haninozuka, but Honey's much cuter. This is my cousin Takashi Morinozuka! We're third years. What about you?"

"Um, I'm a first year, so that means you are my senpais, right?" Hanami smiled. This little boy couldn't be her senior, he was too cute! "Yeah, I just moved here from America. I'm a first year! My name is Hanami, and right now, I'm getting my uniform."

"Takashi is getting his uniform too! He grew taller again, so he is getting refitted." Honey chirped. "Hey, wanna meet our friends? After you get your uniform, come with us to meet them, okay?"

"Okay!" Then, the seamstress called Hanami in.

A few minutes later, Hanami stepped out of the dressing room in a stiff, pale, yellow dress. She..hated it. These dumb uniforms were so starched! Suddenly, Hanami snapped out of her thoughts for she felt someone's eyes on her. She looked u and found Takashi's gaze upon her face. She felt her face heat up, so she looked away, but she still felt his eyes on her.

"Ah! You're a girl?" Honey exclaimed. "Wow, you're so cute!"

"Thank you!" Hanami smiled at this kid. Who would have guessed he was a senior? He was so kind to her, a girl he barely knew. Hanami had been feeling insecure because of the way the stupid dress accentuated her lack of, um, curves, but since Honey thought she was cute, then it wasn't so bad. Honey grabbed her hand, and the three left the seamstress'.

"Come on! You'll get to meet Tama-chan, Hika-chan, Kao-chan, my usa-chan, and Haru-chan, who looks a bit like you!" Takashi nodded his agreement.


	2. Introductions and Confessions

"Thank you, Suou-sama." Kyouya closed his sleek black folder and headed back to the third music room.

"I'm here!" announced Honey, opening the Music Room door. A rose-scented wind blew softly past Hanami, Honey, and Takashi.

"Welcome, princess," said a tall, blonde boy, looking straight at Hanami. "What brings you to me and my merry Host Club?"

"What the heck is a host club?" Hanami blurted out. "I haven't the slightest idea what that is. However, Honey-senpai brought me here with Takashi-senpai."

"Takashi? Oh, you mean Mori-senpai." The blonde, who had been seated in a very lavishly decorated chair, stood up and walked gracefully to Hanami, practically dripping of elegance. Over-exaggerated elegance to be exact. He reached out a pristine hand and tilted Hanami's chin up, his shining blue eyes looking into hers. She met his gaze evenly, perhaps a bit defiantly as well. Eventually, Hanami averted her gaze to look past the boy's shoulder. She saw two identical redheads, who were grinning a bit mischievously (and maybe a bit lecherously.) Sandwiched between the redheads was short, feminine boy who owned large eyes. This boy was staring at Hanami, shell-shocked. His mouth was opened in an astonished O. Hanami and the boy's eyes met, and Hanami broke free of the blonde's grasp. She ran over to the short boy and briefly searched his eyes before glomping onto the boy in a tight hug. Behind her, the door clicked open and she heard footsteps before a loud crash.

"AAHH! KYOUYA!!! HELP ME! THAT GIRL IS HUGGING MY PRECIOUS DAUGHTER!" Apparently, the blonde boy had crashed to the floor, jumped back up, and stared screaming.

"Oh? Does Haruhi have another girlfriend?" An extremely smooth voice said. Letting go of the short boy, Hanami whirled around to find the annoying boy she had bumped into earlier.

"Strange that we meet again," he said to her with a taunting nod. "And you dressed as a girl, as well."

Hanami glared at him. What a stuck-up elitist!

To the one who was supposedly 'Haruhi,' the bespectacled boy said, "Haruhi, do you know who this girl is?"

"Uh, yeah, senpai. At least, I think so." Said a strangely familiar voice. Hanami turned around to look searchingly at the short boy.

"Hanami, right?" said the boy called Haruhi. "It's me, Haruhi. I'm your cousin, right?"

Now Hanami was confused. She didn't recall any male cousins named Haruhi.. Actually, she'd never met any of her male cousins. Sensing Hanami's perplexity, Haruhi reached into his pocket and drew out his middle school ID card, passing it to Hanami. Hanami looked at the picture and did a double take. NOW, everything made sense. The _girl _on the ID card was indeed her cousin Haruhi Fujioka. Yet, somehow, Haruhi was now a boy? Or, at least dressed like one. A slightly feminine guy, admittedly, but Hanami had never thought of her dear cousin as the cross-dressing type. Nevertheless, Haruhi hadn't seen her cousin for around five years, at the least. Squealing, she hugged Haruhi again, provoking the blonde to scream again.

"Tamaki-senpai, it's okay!! She knows I'm a girl." The blonde quieted down. "Guys, this is my favorite cousin, Hanami. She lives in America, or at least, up till now?" Haruhi raised a questioning eyebrow at Hanami. However, the blonde pranced up to greet Hanami.

"Oh, I see! I am Tamaki Suou, the king and president of this prestigious club. Welcome, Princess Hanami, to the Ouran High School Host Club." He said, bowing gracefully. The boy with glasses now stepped up, wearing a very confident and haughty expression.

"I am Kyouya Ootori, and very pleased to meet you." He said, with a hint of ill intentions in his voice as he sank to a deep bow as well. He kind of creeped Hanami out, but she could sense his apparent intelligent. Actually, Hanami felt that all of these people were intelligent. Well, except for that Tamaki fellow.

"Oh!" exclaimed Hanami, who noticed the last name similarity between Tamaki and the superintendent. "Ootori-senpai, is Tamaki-senpai's father the superintendent?"

Kyouya nodded, smiling a little as he noticed Hanami's quick mind.

The two redheads sidled up to Hanami and introduced themselves as the Hitachin twins; Hikaru and Kaoru.

"Guess which one is which.." they grinned, thinking that they had found a new toy.

"I don't know you well enough." Hanami smiled back warily.

"Well then, I guess we're going to have to become best friends!" Hanami made eye contact with Haruhi, who slid a finger across her throat.

"Okayy…" Hanami turned away, feeling a shiver down her spine. "So, what kind of club this, exactly?" she asked.

"Thank you for asking! We, the Ouran Host Club, are a club that caters to the delicate hearts of carefree princesses of a refined society such as you. Whatever their romantic desire, we recreate to the furthest possible extent. Daily, we beautiful young gentlemen are sought out by ladies who enjoy our appearances and personalities. With divine and detailed settings, we create a unique romantic fantasy, if only for a few hours. It is a maiden's paradi— "

"We are simply a group of handsome young men who serve to entertain beautiful and refined ladies of high society. Basically, we are here to serve young ladies as yourself."

Kyouya cut in, much to the satisfaction of everyone in the room. Tamaki tended to babble endlessly if not interrupted. Hanami gave Kyouya a weird look, not quite understanding the point of the Host Club. She felt a hand on her arm and saw that Hanami was pulling her away from the cluster of boys.

It had been a rather long time since Haruhi had seen Hanami. As she dragged Hanami away from the crazy Host idiots, she itched to ask Hanami about Amelia and the rest of their family, including Haruhi's step-uncle, and why Hanami had come to Ouran in the yellow uniform.

"Hanami-san, what brings you to Japan? Last I heard of you, Amelia and Stephen were raising you in America. California, specifically."

"Yeah, that's right." Hanami looked away from Haruhi's gaze, remembering her beloved stepfather's death.

"So… why are you in Japan? Are you going to live here?"

"…Stephen died, Haruhi. A few weeks ago. And as it turns out, he wasn't a humble computer store owner, but a multitrillionaire CEO of some major technology company. I ended up inheriting the business, and I came here because he knew the superintendent and knew this school's reputation for future business leaders. I didn't know he had this-this other life, as a CEO of some international conglomerate. He wanted to protect me from the world of the elites, but I— " Hanami's voice was raw with emotion. Tears began to slide down her face, and she found that she was unable to go on. Concerned and sympathetic, Haruhi hugged her cousin and let her cry.

---------------

The Host Club had been watching this touching scene. Tamaki's eyes watered, Honey cried and joined in on the hug, and Hikaru and Kaoru were sobbing into Hitachin-Brand silk handkerchiefs. Mori had patted Hanami's head, and Kyouya had stood off to the side, fighting to control his jealousy. He had heard that Stephen Jones had kept his identity unknown to his lovely stepdaughter. It was quite unjust that the girl, who had lived as a commoner her whole life, had inherited the up-and-rising eighth international conglomerate virtually overnight! And he, the third son of the elite Ootori bloodline, had to fight for such a title? Initially, this was the way Kyouya had felt about that idiot, Tamaki, but at least Tamaki knew the ways of the upper class. Whereas, this...this _novice_ had already received the title! Even Tamaki Suou was not sure whether he would inherit the Suou conglomerate, but Hanami had already obtained such power and recognition without having to spend years working for it! Seething, but with a very controlled face, Kyouya turned away from the rest of the group and left the music room to go home. Nobody noticed, as they were all crowded around that incredibly lucky _bitch._

After hearing more of Hanami's heart-breaking life story, Tamaki punched his fist high into the air.

"With both of your fathers gone from this world and your mother half the world away, we, the Ouran Academy Host Club, will be your family in Japan! I am your uncle, and Kyouya is your aunt!" he said, pointing to the spot where Kyouya had previously been. "Speaking of Mommy… Where is he?" However, Tamaki didn't think much about this and decided to proceed with the character assignments. "Anyway, Hikaru, Kaoru, and Haruhi are your cousins, as Haruhi is my precious daughter! Honey and Mori will be your parents for the duration of your life here in Japan."

"Wahh! Hana-chan, I'll be your daddy, okay?" cried Honey, in tears over Hanami's story.

Hanami, Haruhi, and the twins found it strange that six-foot-two Mori was the "mommy."

However, the Host Club's efforts to cheer Hanami up had worked, and so, feeling a lot better, she asked to be excused. There was absolutely no way she was wearing this dumb dress. Ducking into an adjoining room which everyone claimed was a dressing room, Hanami changed back into the slacks and button-down shirt she had arrived at the school in. As she stepped out of the dressing room, Tamaki stared at her. She was dressed a lot like a host would! Haruhi happened to be thinking among the same lines. If Hanami became a host, then perhaps it would make it easier to endure each long day with these idiots… It would help to have a fellow female, as well as a close friend on the team.

Tamaki zoned out to watch one of his inner-mind fantasies. If Hanami became a host, then she and Haruhi would have a female camaraderie, and they could be feminine together on host-only trips… And maybe Hanami could convince Haruhi to wear things that Tamaki secretly slipped to her…

"Hanami, if you hate the female uniforms, why don't you join me and become a host? It's not that difficult. All you have to do is be courteous and polite. Plus, you would have to wear the male uniform all day long, and it's much more comfortable, right? It would be a relief to work with you!" said Haruhi earnestly.

"What do you mean by relief!?" demanded Tamaki, snapping out of his daydream. "But Haruhi has a good point. You look like you could be an excellent host, except your hair is about two inches too long."

"But wouldn't hosting mean that I have to deceive innocent girls by pretending to be a boy?" Hanami asked warily. She shrugged. "Well, it could be fun, working with my cousin. I'll give it some thought."

"Okay. That's all we can ask for now. Anyway, Hanami-chan, where do you live?" Hanami gave Haruhi her address, and to their delight, Hanami lived in the apartment right beneath Haruhi's! The two left the music room together to walk home. Excitedly, Tamaki watched them leave then flipped open his cell phone.

"KYOUYA! Guess what??"

"…… So now Haruhi will have a female friend and she will be more feminine and the two of them can bake or cook together and Haruhi will wear an apron again!!" Kyouya held the phone away at arm's length to prevent Tamaki's squeal from causing him to go deaf. Did he have to be so loud? However, Kyouya (having controlled his jealousy), was in fact interested by this news. He wondered what kind of profits Hanami could bring to the Club. He would try to convince Hanami to join her cousin later. Immediately, Kyouya pulled his MacBook Air and began to research personality tests. He would have to assess her personality and determine what kinds of sales she would rake in.

"So, Hanami, how long will you be in Japan?" Haruhi was happy to have her cousin around. Hanami usually visited every other summer, and the two had a very close friendship.

"A long time!" chuckled Hanami. "I'll learn about business management at Ouran and from my 'underling,' Richard Price. After that, I'll most likely run PineComp from Japan, where its top clients are. I guess I'll be sticking around for a while, aside from business trips to America." Hanami grinned.

Haruhi returned the smile warmly. Having Hanami around would alleviate the stress caused by Tamaki. As Haruhi recalled, Hanami's personality was quite similar to each one of the hosts. In fact, Hanami was kind of a perfect balance of all the other hosts. One day, Hanami could be as cold and calculating as Kyouya, yet she was also silly like Tamaki, quiet and protective like Mori, as sweet as Honey, yet also as mischievous as the twins. It was because of the two girl's close relationship that allowed Haruhi to handle all the 6 hosts well. The only difference was that all of the 6 boys took their personality types to the extreme. Hanami balanced each personality in moderation. That was it. Haruhi decided that Hanami would make a great host. Now, the only thing left to do was to convince her cousin to join the club!


	3. Discoveries and Proposals

Hanami and Haruhi arrived at their apartment complex, and Hanami unlocked the door to her own 2-K apartment, inviting her cousin in.

"Yeah.. I don't have much furniture, but I just arrived two weeks ago." Hanami scratched her head sheepishly as Haruhi looked at the mini-fridge, the disheveled futon, and the two fat suitcases overflowing with disorderly items.

"Hanami! Are you still living out of a suitcase?!" cried Haruhi. No cousin of hers should have to live like this. Suddenly, Haruhi wondered what else Hanami was doing.

"Hanami, what have you been eating for the past two weeks?"

"Uh… Mostly junk food and take-out. With my schedule and jet-lag, I haven't had time to cook for myself…"

"Hanami-chan! You shouldn't do that! It's unhealthy! If you need to eat, feel free to come over and I'll make something nutritious for you, 'kay?" Haruhi scolded. "It's no good learning business if you're sick. It's impossible to learn with improper nutrition."

"Okay… I'll take you up on that soon. But I think I'm already sick." Hanami coughed a little, and Haruhi could tell that her cousin was coming down with a cold.

"That's it. Tomorrow you are coming with me to the nearest hospital to get some prescriptions." Haruhi softened. "We'll go in the morning. Then, if you're feeling better, would you like to come with me to Karuizawa? Because it's a 3-day holiday, everyone's decided to come to Karuizawa and have a dance party for the customers. At Kyouya's vacation home there. After that, we're going to split up to each one's vacation homes to live in, and we'll go to Mizusu's pension later. It's only a dance party. It'll be fun." Haruhi's face betrayed what she was saying as she frowned, recalled the first Host Club dance party she had attended, as well as the time when Hikaru insulted Arai in the pension. However, she heard a whimper and looked up at Hanami (who had a good seven inches on Haruhi.)

"H-Haruhi! Your frowning face is so cute!" squealed Hanami, coughing a little at the end. Haruhi grinned. It was amazing that when Hanami said things like this, Haruhi enjoyed the compliment, but when it was Tamaki or her father, Haruhi was annoyed. Hanami was a good person. 'I hope she becomes a host,' thought Haruhi. 'I think she'd do great.'

The next morning, after breakfast, the two walked to the nearest hospital. In an examination room at the clinic, a pretty young female doctor told Hanami that stress and jet lag was the cause of her cold symptoms. She prescribed some electrolyte pills and some allergy meds.

"Just take it easy, relax, and try to enjoy yourself." The doctor said. Hanami and Haruhi nodded fervently, resolving to avoid Tamaki that night. An overly enthusiastic person had to be kept away from Hanami for… "medical" reasons.

The three of them heard a small click as the door opened and a tall, handsome boy dressed smartly in a navy blue polo and khaki slacks strode into the room, bowing to kiss the young doctor's hand.

"Good morning, ladies." Kyouya's smooth voice came from the boy. The doctor swooned at such a handsome boy while Hanami raised an eyebrow. Blushing, the doctor left the room, whispering, "Good morning, Ootori-sama."

'Huh?' Hanami thought. 'How does she know Kyouya-senpai's name?' However, Kyouya seemed to be able to read thoughts, for he answered her mental question.

"So, what brings you two to my family's hospital?" asked Kyouya, his eyes never leaving Hanami's face. She stared back for a while until she decided to avert her eyes and pretend that he wasn't there.

"I'm kind of sick. Haruhi brought me here." Kyouya blinked. Could Haruhi afford to bring Hanami to an Ootori hospital? It definitely wasn't cheap. Haruhi scowled, guessing Kyouya's thoughts by the look on his face.

"Kyouya-senpai, I am paying for my own expenses." she said flatly. Kyouya blinked again. Hanami's personality was certainly… interesting.

"Very well then." Kyouya reached out and wrapped five elegant fingers around Hanami's thin arm in a viselike grip.

"What the hell? Senpai, let go of me!" The girl struggled against his grasp, but she could not free her arm.

"Haruhi, feel free to wait in the lobby. I need Hanami for a few tests so that I can decide about her hosting."

"HEY! What am I, huh? Not your slave, that's for sure!" Hanami squirmed under her upperclassman's grasp. Kyouya looked down at her. She was 5 feet and 7 inches, a mere four inches shorter than he himself. This morning, Hanami happened to be dressed somewhat femininely, in a fitted purple tee, tights, and a denim miniskirt. It was probably the outfit, as well as her beautiful face that caused the male doctorate students to turn their heads and follow her with their eyes as Kyouya dragged her through the sterile hallways. He stopped walking abruptly before a door marked OOTORI. Kyouya opened it, graciously holding the door open for the girl.

"Please, sit." He said, gesturing towards a large, plush chair. Kyouya delicately stepped around a large, expensive-looking desk, gently sinking into the chair behind it. He swiveled the 100% American leather office chair to retrieve a file from a polished wood filing cabinet. Kyouya spun back around, placed the file on the desk, drew out a pencil, and began asking Hanami a series of questions, taking notes along the way. When the interview was over, Kyouya silently calculated the results of the test as Hanami sat quietly.

"Senpai, why do you have an office?"

"Hmm? My father asked be to run this small hospital so that I may learn more. Ah, Hanami-kun, will you be attending the Karuizawa dance party tonight, perhaps already as a host?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess." Hanami heard Kyouya's pencil drop. She looked up. It was odd for such a refined person to drop anything! What Hanami saw was a shocked Kyouya, staring at her in bewilderment. He looked down at the paper in his hands, and a slow smile spread across his face. But not in a positive way. He seemed happy, as if he had been given millions of yen. A greedy sort of happiness… Hanami shuddered.

Kyouya stared at the paper, seeing that Hanami had scored equally in the 6 categories Kyouya had created, based on each of the hosts. Statistically, Hanami would be the perfect host. She was a combination of Haruhi, Tamaki, Kyouya himself, the twins, Honey, and Mori. Instantly, Kyouya's mind went to profits.

--------------

Kyouya wondered how many girls would designate a host with Hanami's almost-too-perfect personality.

"Fujioka-kun, I have a proposal to make." Kyouya pushed his glasses farther up his nose and lightly placed his elbows on the desk, toughing his fingertips together.

Haruhi had warned Hanami to be careful when Kyouya asked her anything.

"What is it?" she asked warily. Kyouya tilted his head up to get a better look at her.

"I'm offering you a position as a host. I'll 'pay' you in business lessons. It seems that your business prowess might leave something to be desired…"

Hanami stared at him. So, he wanted her to pretend to be a guy and entertain girls, and then he (or another elitist host) would train her in the business arts? Yeah, right. But…

Richard was a pervert. Every day he assaulted her with requests for her to date him. Hanami wasn't sure whether the PineComp 2nd-in-command did this because he wanted the business, her herself, or both. However, it _would _be nice to have a tutor who wasn't always whispering nasty and obscene comments in her ear. But Hanami did not want to be dishonest to the poor girls.

"You would wear the male uniform instead of a dress. The superintendent already thinks you're a boy anyway." Kyouya smiled wickedly, knowing that this would be the clincher for Hanami.

That did it. There was no way Hanami was wearing that dumb dress for nine whole hours a day. However, there was no way she could let Kyouya win. She would never let him think that he had easily convinced her. Hanami quickly composed her face and nodded curtly. She swept out of the room to find Haruhi.

Kyouya leaned back in his chair and smirked. With the money raised from a host like Hanami, his father would have to notice the amazing profits his third son's shenanigans had milked. A girl like her would not have to be taught the ways of the host. She'd figure it out herself so that none of the hosts would have to waste their time teaching her. And Kyouya himself would not be burdened down with the business lessons.

There were a few hours before Haruhi was required to leave for Kyouya's vacation home, so Hanami and Haruhi each went to their respective homes to pay respects to their deceased parents. Hanami knelt before a picture of her stepfather, her face alight with radiant happiness.

"Hey, Dad. What's up?" Hanami began. "Life's rough, and a little bit bizarre. It's kind of hard, you know, without you to tutor me in business, politics, and economy. But, I think things are looking up! I met my cousin Haruhi, and her friends seem to be nice. I think I'm going to get along well with them. I'll never get used to this elitist lifestyle. I wonder how you managed to survive this world, and I think I finally get why you didn't want to raise me like that. I mean, like them… Dad, I really miss you. So, watch over me, okay? I'll be with the hosts tonight. I think they are good people. Or maybe not. There's something sinister about that Kyouya-senpai…" Hanami quietly put folded the photo and put it back in its drawer.

Hanami's sudden rise to fame was overwhelming for her. Within a timeline of a few months, she had gone from an everyday girl to a technology tycoon's heiress daughter, gracing the front of TIMES Magazine, People, US Weekly, and more. Just because she was an heiress out of the blue. However, she had gritted her teeth and learned the basics quickly. It had been hard to leave America, but it was necessary. Now, though, after those tumultuous weeks, Hanami felt hopeful. Maybe, she could relax.

A sharp knock on the door startled Hanami out of her thoughts.

"Eh? I'm coming!" Hanami jumped up from the ground, picking herself up off the floor. She pushed the floor open and saw a middle-aged, stoic, blonde man standing there, wearing dark Ray-Bans and a dark suit. "Madam." He said, holding out a beautifully wrapped package out at her. Puzzled, Hanami took it. The man walked to a luxurious, imported Mercedes-Benz vehicle. Hanami stood in the doorway holding the package, staring after the car, thoroughly confused.

"Ah! Hanami-chan, can you help me?" Hanami blinked and saw Haruhi struggling to make her way to her, while holding a rather bulky box. Haruhi struggled beneath its weight. Hanami dropped the package she was holding to go help her cousin.

"Haruhi! What are you doing?" Hanami reprimanded Haruhi as she relieved her cousin of the burden. "You know you aren't an athletic person. When you are done building up muscle, you can come and carry boxes like these. Until then, no tearing of the muscles!!"

"You worry too much about me." Haruhi frowned. "Anyway, I can to make lunch for us. Well, actually you, 'cause YOU are not taking care of your health." Haruhi took out several food items and brought them into Hanami's kitchen. "The supermarket had a sale on eggs, so I thought we could have omurice. It has a lot of proteins."

"Oh! How kind of you!' Hanami glomped onto her sweet little cousin. "You are so cute!! I'll help you cook, and one day I hope you can let me return the favor sometime, okay?? I know some delicious American recipes…" The two girls then bustled about the small kitchen, bringing Ranka a plate when the food was ready.

If Tamaki could see this, he would be proud.


	4. New Experiences

After a delicious lunch of omurice (which Hanami and Haruhi ate on the bare floor, due to a lack of a tatami mat), Hanami groaned and fell onto her back, clutching her stomach.

"So… full!" She gasped. Haruhi blinked, then doubled over in peals of laughter. Hanami was sprawled on the ground in such an awkward position! Hanami waved her arms around, making a sort of debris angel. Her hand hit the parcel she had received earlier. Sitting up, Hanami grabbed the package and ripped off the note attached to it. It read:

"Fujioka-kun, kindly wear this shirt with the pants you wore yesterday. Signed, K. Ootori."

Haruhi took the card from a puzzled Hanami and read it as Hanami unwrapped the high quality paper. In it was a box that contained a mint green, silk men's dress shirt.

"Uh…." Hanami stared blankly at the shirt, unsure of what to do with it.

"Hey, that's the color Tamaki-senpai decided that the host club is wearing tonight!" remarked Haruhi. "Except we're wearing vests as well.'

Suddenly, everything made sense. Kyouya, the ever-so-calculating Shadow King, wanted to create a feeling of curiosity around Hanami, leaving the customers wondering about her. Er, him, as Hanami would be pretending to be. With the matching shirt, the girls would assume Hanami was a host. But if 'he' wasn't wearing the vest, then 'he' wasn't a host. Or maybe just the naughty type… Either way, the ladies would be quite interested. And they would not be so bold to ask questions, being raised in such a refined atmosphere. It was an ingenious plan, Hanami had to admit. Surely, Kyouya knew (and meant) business.

Hanami must have had an "Ah…I get it!" look on her face, because Haruhi poked her hard, wondering why Kyouya had sent the shirt. "OW!" Hanami scowled, rubbing her arm. "That's gonna leave a mark!" But she explained the plot anyways. The two laughed over the silly plan and Haruhi retreated to her own apartment to prepare for the party (which meant taking a nap and drinking many energy drinks.)

When it was almost time for the host club to pick Haruhi and Hanami up from their apartment complex, both girls were already dressed (Hanami was vest-less, of course.)

The two were sitting in Hanami's apartment, having an intense conversation about the newest sale prices on the Maruchan Midori no Tanuki instant soba. Haruhi was trying to compare prices while Hanami was speculating on taste, and it just so happened that Tamaki burst through the door, announcing, "The King is here!" He assumed a very striking pose, but jumped out of it when he heard that the two girls were discussing a soba called "Tanuki."

"Ohh! Is Haruhi talking about a Tanuki? She is an adorable raccoon, isn't she?"

"Senpai, I'd advise you not to call me a raccoon." Haruhi glared, causing Tamaki to hide behind Kyouya (who was walking through the door.) Looking past the two, Hanami saw that the rest of the hosts were coming in as well, all dressed with the mint green shirt and vest.

"Ahahah! You two are so cute, ne! Hana-chan, are you ready to see us in action?" chirped Honey as Mori nodded towards the girls.

"Come, let us commence into the realm of beauty, love, and divine dancing!" Tamaki said eloquently with a graceful sweep of the arm. He held the door open and ushered the hosts out of Hanami's apartment, and Kyouya led them to the limousine.

Hanami felt that the fancy, elongated cars were a nuisance. They were kind of a waste of money… Then again, the hosts always had the money to waste. However, as Hanami sank into the plush suede seat, she sighed contentedly. Haruhi slid in next to her, and Honey and Mori took the seat across from them. Along the side of the vehicle, an expensive-looking leather bench was occupied by Tamaki and the twins. That meant…

Hanami slowly swiveled her head around to see that Kyouya was sitting next to her, a smug grin on his face. Frowning, she turned back around. But, she felt his presence lingering around her and felt a shiver down her spine. What if he tried to kill her? Hanami didn't put anything past the infamous Shadow King…

"Well, well, well, look who's dressed to host?" Kyouya's low whisper resounded next to her ear. "I wonder how many customers you might reel in, even before you officially join the club." Hanami shifted her weight into Haruhi. ANYTHING to get away from the evil scary lord!

The host club arrived at Karuizawa at long last, and Kyouya's driver pulled up in front of the Ootori family Karuizawa vacation home, er, mansion. All 8 passengers filed out of the car and entered the home, where maids were scurrying about trying to clean and decorate the place. In the kitchen, top chefs from around the world were preparing dishes such as fancy European hors d'oeuvres. Kyouya led them to one of the many living rooms, and invited everyone to sit. He waved his pencil at Hanami and informed his friends that she was to be a host.

"But before she can host, we have to change her name, and give her a sort of pseudonym. The name 'Hanami' is blatantly feminine." he said. "Let's make this interesting- whoever calls out the best name will receive some of Haruhi's childhood pictures." Kyouya held a few of them up, and the games began!

"HEY!" Haruhi yelled. She needed to have a little talk to her father, Ranka.

Tamaki and the twins yelled out random names such as "Yuki," "Kyo," and "Tohru," which caused Haruhi to scold, "Tamaki-senpai, please don't read Fruits Basket to the twins. Shoujo manga is unhealthy!" Eventually, Hanami revealed that her middle name was Noriko, but Kyouya felt that it sounded too feminine, even if the name was unisex.

Haruhi volunteered the name Daichi (which, coincidentally, she got from a shoujo manga that she had been forced to read to Kirimi Nekozawa.) Haruhi ended up winning the photos, pleased to get them back. And so, that was that. To the customers and other students, Hanami would now be known as a boy named Daichi Fujioka. Thankfully, Hanami was still allowed to be Haruhi's cousin. But now, she was a male cousin. Who had nothing to do with PineComp.

Guests began to arrive in their imported European vehicles, and the dance party went underway. Hanami had looked for Haruhi, but her cousin was currently dancing the waltz with an adoring customer. Sighing, Hanami leaned against a pillar (….Kyouya-senpai has pillars in his house?!) and watched the scene. After a few minutes, some of the braver girls asked 'him' to dance. Tamaki had raced over and tried to whisper dancing instructions in Hanami's ear, but Hanami pushed him aside.

"Senpai, I've already learned how to ballroom dance. I took many years of lessons in America."

"Ehh? Daichi-kun, that's amazing that you learned to dance since you were young!" cried the girl on Hanami's arm. With a pointed look, Hanami whisked the young lady away to the dance floor. Thankfully, Hanami's dance instructor had ordered her to learn the male part as well, for coordination.

Within a few short minutes, the song was over and Hanami led the girl away graciously. A few more girls asked for a dance, until there was actually a small sort of line. And of course, when girls gathered to whisper about the hosts, in the center of it all, was Renge.

"Oh-ho ho ho ho ho ho ho! It seems that a new character has arisen! Will it be a host? Are a bystander? Or a customer like Bossa Nova? It is I, Renge Houshakuji, your daily source for the Ouran Host Club Love Love News!" Renga cackled, using a chair as her podium. "Daichi-kun must be host! If he is not yet, he will! But first, girls, we must determine his host type!"

"Oh? What did you have in mind, Renge-san?" Kyouya came up, carrying his black notebook. Behind him, several of his fans trailed, peering over his shoulder to look at Renge. Honey and Mori joined the cluster, along with their fans, until everyone in the room was clustered around Renge, anticipating the news. Well, save for Haruhi, who was investigating the appetizer table (she was uninterested in Renge's ramblings today. And.. did Kyouya remember to buy ootoro sushi?) and Hanami, who was staring at the large clump of people, looking confused.

Out of nowhere (presumably because of Renge's fangirl tendencies), all the lights dimmed quite low except for a single, bright spotlight which was placed on Hanami.

"Ah!" 'Daichi' raised an arm to shield 'his' eyes from the blinding light.

"Look. The grace that Daichi-kun exudes. The dark, jet-black hair that is swept aside carelessly. The hazelnut eyes that look into yours while you dance. Could this be angst? No, I think not. Daichi-kun also emits an air of Americanism. His calm but outgoing personality, the grace yet the joviality, clearly Daichi is the American host! An international character!" Renge screeched. All the girls clapped, astonished.

Hanami felt that Renge was a bit strange. Hanami was American, but she wasn't aware that that could be a host type as well…

"BOO!" yelled the twins. "Wrong! It seems that the fangirl antenna is broken." Was Renge really so out of ideas that she used 'Daichi's' previous home for his host type? Haha. What a fool.

"NO WAY!" Renge yelled back. "There is no way I'm wrong!"

"My apologies, Renge-san, but it seems that the twins are right." Kyouya handed over his black notebook, Tamaki straining his neck to get a look.

"What is it, Renge-chan?" asked Tamaki, leaning over the folder. His eyes widened when he saw what it said. Renge was staring at Kyouya's results sheet on Hanami's personality.

"Eh? Renge-san, what is it?" girls clamored. "Tell us!"

"Daichi is.." she began, as everyone slowly turned their heads to stare at Hanami, er, Daichi intently. "Daichi is… the host type."

**A/N Whoa. Long chapter. Be prepared for more long chapter like this, because I'd like the story to progress faster now. Anyway. Tell me what you think so far! Any questions? Comments? Advice? All of those are greatly appreciated. Stay posted, okay? And I don't own Ouran, Fruits Basket, or Kitchen Princess (didya recognize Daichi's name?) Anyway. It was really fun to write this chapter. Cause I get to use Renge. She's like my role model-for otakus everywhere!! MOE!**


	5. Craziness

Hanami's initial thought was: "What the hell?" Her second thought was: "Should I be worried?"

"Yes." Said Haruhi flatly, standing next to Hanami while munching on some mini quiches (courtesy of Kyouya's private chefs).

"!? Haru-chan, you can read my thoughts!?" Hanami jumped away from her cousin, who seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

"Thoughts? No, you asked whether you should be worried aloud."

"Oh." Hanami developed a blank look of confusion, which was then replaced with a mixture of pain and annoyance when Tamaki came up and clapped her on the back. "Ouch, senpai! What's wrong with you?!"

"Congratulations, young host! It seems that you have surpassed all seven of us. You are the ideal host! The only thing left to do now is for me to share my apparent expertise with you so that you may learn faster! And in doing so, our newest padawan will become a trained Jedi!"

"Looks like someone has been reading up on his American culture." muttered Hikaru, resting one of his elbows on Hanami's shoulder and the other on Haruhi's head.

"Seriously, Milord, those things only sound cool in movies." Kaoru sighed at the idiocy of their king.

"I WAS JUST TRYING TO MAKE HA-DAICHI-KUN FEEL MORE AT HOME!!!" Tamaki caught his little booboo just in time.

"I AM three quarters Japanese, you know. Just saying." Hanami said flatly. "Even if I did live in America."

"Ohohoho! So it seems that I am fifty percent correct in guessing Daichi-kun's personality! He says himself that he is an American!" Renge proclaimed, receiving formidable applause from a majority of the girls.

"Well, it seems that many of you girls danced with Daichi-san tonight. However, I couldn't help but notice that one girl danced with Daichi the most. Will Miss Madoka Saito please come to the front?" Kyouya was scheming, all right.

Madoka, a delicate girl who had shyly asked "Daichi" to dance several times, stepped forward uncertainly. Kyouya spoke again.

"As many of you ladies know, the host club enjoys rewarding the princesses who are the night's 'dancing queen.' So, Madoka'chan's prize is a kiss from the boy who is now our newest host, Daichi Fujioka."

Hanami widened her eyes as her jaw dropped to the floor. What was Kyouya trying to do? However, Hanami remembered that she was in the hands of company, and she swallowed hard. 'It's just a kiss on the cheek.' She thought bravely.

Haruhi glared up at Tamaki.

"What? This is Kyouya's doing!" He exclaimed, a bit scared of his daughter at that moment. Even though her angry face was cute…she was still scary.

"He's YOUR best friend!" Haruhi stormed off.

"Was I supposed to do something?" Tamaki asked in a small voice.

"I guess so." The twins grinned lecherously.

Taking slow steps, as if walking to her doom, Hanami proceeded to reward Madoka.

Tamaki, deciding to do something about this situation in order to please Haruhi, rushed forward, reaching out to grab "Daichi."

"NOOOOO!" yelled Haruhi, lunging at Tamaki. She tackled him, causing him to fall over. The last time Tamaki tried to intervene during someone's kiss, that someone ended up with a full-on liplock. Hanami, who had already leaned in and pecked the blushing Madoka's cheek, turned her head to see the sickening crunching noise. However, she wasn't the only one who looked over at Haruhi and Tamaki.

There was a long (or, at least, seemingly long) silence.

Then:

"KYAAAA! MOE!!!" Renge, of course. Who else?

But what caused Renge's sudden outburst? Well, it seemed that Haruhi was pinning Tamaki to the floor. It was a very… suggesting pose. Tamaki turned redder and redder, blushing furiously as Haruhi stared down at him in shock.

"…" The twins looked shocked, indeed, whereas, Kyouya was rather enjoying this scene. He whipped out his camera, clicking a few shots as Haruhi scrambled off Tamaki. Profits, my dears, can always be gained from experiences like these.

"…Sorry, Senpai. Urm… Honest mistake. Just taking a precaution, you know? Can't have you being a kissaholic." Haruhi attempted to laugh the whole thing off, although she was clearly embarrassed.

"Will this be a new love in the host club?" Renge asked tearfully as several girls looked on. "Could this be a new forbidden love between the King and the Commoner?!"

If you had looked into the room at this point in time, you would wonder if there was an earthquake. Every lady in the room had lost their balance, swooning with the notion of a love between Tamaki-sama and Haruhi-kun.

Hanami didn't think much of this clearly, it wasn't an accident, and, to be frank, she was grateful that it took the attention away from her.

"Daichi-kun?"

"Hmm?" Hanami pulled her eyes of the crime scene to see Madoka gazing shyly up at her.

"May I… May I designate you again? When school resumes?"

Hanami didn't exactly like Madoka in THAT way, but as a "male" host, it was her duty to say, "Yes, of course. I'd be delighted."

"Daichi" had said that for two reasons. A-for her duty, and B-because Kyouya was standing nearby, watching for the PROPER response. He was definitely a person to be wary of.

"Thank you all for coming tonight. When school resumes, we hope to meet with your beauty again." Kyouya announced graciously. "We will escort you to where your drivers are waiting. Again, thank you, and sleep well."

Hanami heard several girls whisper "Kyouya-sama is so cool!" However, she was rather more disconcerted by the larger crowd, who, led by Renge, screamed, "WE LOVE YOU, DAICHI-KUN!" as "Daichi" ushered them to their expensive vehicles.

"Well, I'm glad that's over." remarked Hikaru as he reentered Kyouya's home.

"Yeah, I know. Having ladies fawn all over you all night is tiring." Kaoru supplied.

"Under normal circumstances, any other guy would find those words insulting. But I get what you mean. That Renge-kun's a strange character, isn't she?" Hanami responded, smiling. Ohh, that girl was a character all right. The American type? Was she racist or something? Did she KNOW that "Daichi" was born a Japanese person? Well, that was a crazy fangirl for you. Quick to judge, but not as speedy to listen.

"Well? What did you think?" Kyouya, of course, appeared out of nowhere.

"Uhm. Well, it was interesting. I could survive as a host. I think." came Hanami's doubtful reply.

"As long as you don't show your unhappiness to the ladies, you're fine." Kyouya smirked evilly.

Hanami wasn't quit sure what to think. This sounded like a lot of fun, but it seemed a bit weird to pretend to be a guy. Ah well. If Haruhi could do it, then so could Hanami.

"Hana-chan! Wanna sleep over at my house?" Honey pulled on Hanami's arm. "We have a bit of a holiday. Would you like to live with Takashi and me tonight?"

Ahh, he was so cute.

"Aww, of course, Senpai!"

Mori smiled at Hanami, causing her to blush. Although, it wasn't because she had a crush on it. Hanami guessed, quite accurately, that anyone Mori smiled to would blush. It was Mori's secret power, most likely.

Off to the side, the twins winked at each other, obviously planning to do something horrible to Tamaki.

"Heyy, Haruhi… Wanna live with us?"

"Yeah, then we can all live in the same house. Just the three of us. Oh! And maybe we should get married as well." The two redheads flashed a look in Tamaki's direction in anticipation.

"HEY!!!!! HOW DARE YOU VERBALLY HARASS MY DAUGHTER! NOBODY IS GOING TO GET MY PRECIOUS HARUHI!!" out of nowhere, Tamaki produced a bag of icing, generally used for decorating cakes. Kyouya raised an eyebrow. "What? You don't have any water guns. So I took this from one of your cooks." Tamaki said sheepishly as his best friend shook his head. "ANYWAY! YOU TWO DOPPELGANGERS BETTER FEAR FOR YOUR LIVES!" Tamaki raced after the maliciously gleeful twins.

"Please don't break anything." Kyouya called after them. But to no avail, as a loud bang was heard several seconds later. He muttered some obscenities, leaving the room to go see what had made the noise.

Hanami and Haruhi stared at each other, then burst out laughing.

The twins then crashed into the room, Tamaki hot on their heels. Kyouya soon followed, walking calmly.

"Nothing was broken, thankfully. But I did find a large Tamaki-shaped dent in my bedroom door."

Tamaki stopped short, hearing the iciness in "Mommy's" voice. The twins took this opportunity to squirt heaps of icing on his head. Adeptly, Tamaki spun around, icing bag at the ready, but one cold sentence prevented him from squeezing the heck outta the little plastic bag.

"You'd better not."

Sulking, Tamaki returned to Kyouya's side, the mound of icing sliding of his head and falling with a little _plop _onto the floor. Kyouya's jaw twitched a little at the sound, but he diplomatically said nothing. Hanami was held speechless. Were these people really this stupid?

"Come on, Hana-chan! Let's go to my house! You too, Haru-chan!" Honey pulled on Hanami's arm.

Tamaki emitted a wail of despair and gazed up at Kyouya tearfully. The bespectacled boy sighed, pushed up his glasses, and spoke.

"Mori-senpai, Honey-senpai, Haruhi, and Hanami, here in the Ootori household, we take good care of our guests. Please feel free to spend the next few nights here in the Ootori Karuizawa home. Tamaki, you and the twins may stay here as well."

Tamaki wiped his eyes and grinned evilly. Nobody was taking Haruhi from him that night.

And so, in the end, Kyouya ended up hosting a sleepover at his house.

**A/N HaH! I loved writing this chapter. It's pretty long, so, I'm glad it's done. More chapters to follow soon! Please review this chapter!!! Tell me what you think! I do not own Ouran, Kitchen Princess, Fruits Basket, or any other allusions. I do own Hanami, though. Fufufu… Oh yeah. Some of my other chapters have minor typos and grammar errors. I'm working to fix those ASAP. Okay. REVIEW!!!**


	6. Training

"Hanami-kun, since you are to become a fully-fledged host when the week returns, I sentence you to host lessons! With me! You will learn the ways to romance a young lady as a proper gentleman!"

"What? No! Why?" Hanami took a step back into the protection of Honey and Mori.

"Why? Because I said so!" Tamaki ordered. "You can repay me by giving me information of Haruhi's personal life."

Haruhi scowled. An informant? Tamaki was a big idiot.

Hanami, however, grinned evilly. She could get the lessons, be a better host, then conveniently forget Haruhi's information…AND she could attempt to de-throne that idiot of a king. Kyouya, who was taking notes, saw the look on her face and smirked.

"WELL THEN! LET THE OURAN HOST TRAINING BEGIN!"

The next morning, training was into full session.

"First, make sure to always look your best. Don't slouch! Don't slump! Back Straight! Head High! Shoulders Back!" Tamaki screamed at Hanami, who was trying (with difficulty) to do these things.

"GOOD! Now, when in the presence of company, make sure to be as eloquent as possible. If you have a drinking glass in your hands, make sure to put your pinky underneath it when you set it down so you do not make a noise. If you are dining and there is a napkin in front of you, do not place it in your lap. That is a womanish thing to do. Therefore you must tuck one end into the collar of your shirt and arrange the folds the napkin now creates a bit fashionably. Make sure that the ends are even and symmetrical. Now, when putting down utensils, place the first joint of your index finger underneath it so that it doesn't make a sound either. Instead of reaching across the table to get a food item, politely ask the person with a strategic location with a smile and a courteous tilt of the head. Now, when you dress for things that are formal, make sure you use a three-piece suit or a suit with coattails. Make sure they are color coordinated! For host outings these will be provided, so I think you are covered there. And now that Renge-chan's identified you as the Host/American type, we can begin to work on your lines-" Tamaki chattered on excitedly, shared every inch of knowledge he had on the subject of being a European gentleman.

By now, Hanami had stopped trying to take notes and had whipped out a video camera instead. One of Kyouya's staff, presumably Tachibana, had confiscated the small Nikon and had placed a small group of professional cameramen in the corner of the room (the room the lessons were in was the ballroom from the night before.)

"And so, those are some proper and gentlemanly things to say to a young lady. However, if the cosplay calls for it, you may change your tone of voice as long as you do not offend and of their feelings. You must be romantic at all times, and kind nevertheless! It is best, when we hold a cosplay, to play your part to the fullest in order to fully host. Now, I'd like to see you try to compliment me. Use a semi-romantic line, and pretend I am Madoka-chan."

Hanami looked shocked. Tamaki-senpai wanted her to pretend he was a girl, then flirt with him? But they were both dressed like guys. Um, awkward? However, she knew she had to do it, so Hanami gritted her teeth and forced on a smile. She looked up and stepped closer to Tamaki, startling the blonde. Slowly, she raised her eyes smolderingly and gazed deep into his blue eyes.

"Tamaki-senpai…Your hair is a cascading waterfall of lusciousness…" she slowly drew the eye contact away teasingly, with a slow smile.

Tamaki turned a bright shade of red and found himself unable to talk.

"Oh!" Applause came from the sides of the room, where the other members of the host club were watching the scene.

"Good job, Hanami-chan, you managed to embarrass Milord." Hikaru rested his elbow on Hanami's shoulder.

"Yeah. But it looked like you two were homo-homo side characters. Here, take this and go change!" Kaoru gave Hanami a Hitachin-Brand garment bag and shoved her to another room.

Haruhi came up and looked straight ahead, addressing the two brothers.

"Hikaru. Kaoru. What are you two up to?"

"Noothing…"

Hanami stepped out of a changing room several minutes later wearing a sultry and somewhat revealing ballroom gown, made of shimmering gold silk intertwined with 24-carat gold threads. She also had on a long, wavy wig which accented her face nicely. All heads looked up.

"Mom is truly an artist." Kaoru stated to his brother.

"This is… a beautiful dress, Hikaru and Kaoru! You say your mother made it? It's so silky and flowy, I love it!"

"Is that so? Then you can have it." Hikaru said.

"Ah, but what will I use it for?" Hanami asked. "I mean, it's not like I'll be ballroom dancing as a girl anytime soon."

"OH?" Tamaki's voice carried across the room scarily. "Well, I order you to master the waltz, both male and female parts!"

Hanami started laughing.

Tamaki looked up with those dumb eyes.

"Have you already forgotten last night? I can already dance the male part for several dances."

"Well then, you must perform the dances, in the female part for us. Choose a host to be your dance partner!" Tamaki demanded.

"'Kay. Haruhi-chan, I choose you!"

"BOO! You're taller! You may not choose Haruhi-san!"

A rustling noise was heard and Kyouya stumbled into the middle of the dance floor, obviously pushed by the twins. He straightened himself and brushed himself off, then turned his head to Hanami. Hanami stared back, feeling angry at the twins. Kyouya felt the same. However, Hanami was the chief executive-in-waiting of the major conglomerate and new Ootori business client Pineapple Computations, and was also a guest in his home. He sighed and extended a long arm towards her.

Tentatively, Hanami took Kyouya's hand and walked closer to him. She felt Kyouya place his hand softly on the small of her back and pull her closer to him. She lightly rested her arm on his, putting her hand on his shoulder. She looked up the mere three inches to his eyes and asked, "Which dance first?"

Honey ran up and pulled Hanami away from Kyouya and into the dance (which happened to be called the bunny hop). This, coincidentally, caused Hanami to fall to the floor with exhaustion. Bunny hops with Honey-senpai were no joke.

"OKAY! ENOUGH!!!" Hanami yelled, a bit muffled considering her face was partially in the marble. "I'm tired."

"No. In order to be a proper host, you must also learn how to act and dress the part, especially for our cosplays." Tamaki frowned. "I'm not done with you. Hikaru! Kaoru!"

"Yessir!"

"Get some of our cosplay costumes from the past. Let's see Hanami-san's acting prowess."

"HAH?! NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Hanami lifted her head of the floor so that she could bang it against the cool, hard marble.

"Please don't do that." Kyouya loomed over her. "The marble isn't exactly cheap."

"Argghhh~!" Hanami slumped and did not move for several minutes. Then, she jumped up, remembering something from one of her travels to other countries.

"Tamaki-senpai, what's your full name?"

Tamaki looked up.  
"Huh? Why do you ask?"

"No reason. Out of interest, I guess. I mean, if you're a half-European person and have lived in France for most of your life, then you would have gone under another name there, right?"

"I suppose. You're perceptive, Hanami-chan."

"No. Haruhi-san told me those things."

"Oh! I see, so Haruhi-kun has been talking about me, huh? Haruhi-kun, you're so cute~!" Tamaki bounced over to his and Kyouya's cute daughter and glomped her. Which she replied to by pinching his arm very, very hard.

Hanami sighed. It looked like she was not going to get the information out of Tamaki tonight. She suddenly felt a cold gaze from behind her. Slowly, Hanami turned around to see Kyouya standing a few feet away, with an eyebrow raised and arms crossed. He walked over to Hanami and spoke to her, not looking at her.

"It's quite intriguing that you would ask such a question. Very…interesting." Kyouya began to walk away, then stopped and turned around, looking Hanami in the eye. "His name is René Tamaki Richard Grantaine, if you really need to know." Kyouya continued to walk away, a smirk forming on his face.

Tamaki and Haruhi continued to bicker in the corner, leaving Hanami to her thoughts.

"Grantaine…" Hanami felt that the name sounded strangely familiar. "Grantaine…"

That night, Kyouya researched the newest addition to the host club and found very interesting information, indeed.

**A/N Heya! So, I finally finished this chapter. So hard to write. I'll be updating my other fics soon, so bear with me! I also plan to combine the first few chapters of this fic, so if some are deleted don't be alarmed! They're just combined with others. Please review, please, please, please! They help me to write faster. Thank you to all my readers! Also, if anyone has some ideas for upcoming chapters, feel free to tell me! (So I don't get writers' block and you have to wait forever for a chapter.) Thanks again and please review and favorite!**


	7. Threats

Kyouya clicked away on his piPac laptop, which, coincidentally, was manufactured by Hanami's PineComp company. He was Googling Hanami, and found some very interesting facts on the Wiki page dedicated to her. Apparently, her stepfather, Stephen Rosenthal, had some French aristocrat lineage. There was also a huge scandal around Stephen's death, with many wondering if the car accident was actually a planned murder. It seemed as if, for the few months before his death, there was jealousy amongst his staff. Those closest to him wanted his chief-executive position, especially the second-in-command, Richard Henry Price. There was some speculation about Price arranging for Rosenthal's murder, but he seemed to have a solid alibi-that he was at Rosenthal's home casually conversing with Stephen's wife and stepchild. Amelia Kazami-Rosenthal had backed this alibi with conviction.

Kyouya also perused Amelia's background, discovering that the Kazami family was of noble Japanese lineage. All of these things piqued Kyouya's curiousity, yet there was one glaring rumor on Hanami's profile that really scratched at Kyouya's mind.

The rumor?

That Hanami was dating Richard Price himself-more precisely, engaged, and had returned to her mother's homeland to investigate her roots and to notify her relatives of said engagement.

"Hanami-kun doesn't seem like the type to be engaged at the moment…" mused Kyouya. "And she had no ring." He researched a bit more, then shut the laptop, letting it go on standby, and left the comforts of his private bedroom to join the others in the dining room.

-------------

Some of the world's top-class chefs had come to Kyouya's home for the purpose of serving Suou, Ootori, Haninozuka, Morinozuka, and Hitachin, presumably for publicity. They had been especially thrilled to hear that Hanami Fujioka-Rosenthal was present as well, and they had clamored over the prospect of international recognition. They all resolved to treat her as a princess and to assure that their food was perfect for her.

Kyouya walked in to see the chefs clustered around Hanami's seat. Taking a quick sweep of the room, he noticed that Tamaki and the twins were trying to appease Haruhi, who seemed a bit irked at the way the chefs idolized Hanami lavishly, whereas Honey and Mori were enjoying cake and crab, respectively. One of the chefs moved aside a bit, leaving Hanami a small window to peer at Kyouya through.

She made eye contact. Kyouya raised an eyebrow, and with a petrified expression she mouthed the words "help..me!"

"Hmmph." Kyouya made that degrading sound that only an elite can do. He clapped his hands twice, very delicately, and icily requested that the culinary artists please return to the kitchen and refrain from stressing out his guest.

Startled and worried, the chefs jumped back into the kitchen, all worrying that they had frightened the precious Hanami Fujioka.

"Sorry about that," muttered Kyouya, taking a seat next to the heiress.

Hanami managed a small thank you, but her hands still clutched the armrests of the chair. She slowly felt heat rushing back to her hands, which had turned a deathly white because of her viselike grip. Slowly but surely, motion flowed back into the stricken hands, and Hanami exhaled deeply, with much relief. She looked over to her cousin.

"Haruhi! What's wrong?" she cried, completely sincere.

"Nothing." Haruhi muttered grumpily. Damn those rich bastards, especially those cooks. They had made sure to formally greet each of the hosts, yet when it came to her it was just a light handshake and a patronizing smile. What, was she chopped liver? Haruhi never asked for attention, riches, or fame, but it was still quite degrading to be ignored because of a lack of a strong family name. She felt a little angry at her cousin, but when Hanami glomped her, cheeks streaming with tears, Haruhi felt the ice covering her heart melt.

-------

And so, the meal went underway. Tamaki tried to feed Haruhi the high-class food dotingly, yet she pushed him away, insisting that she could eat by herself like a big girl. All of the hosts smiled at Haruhi, pleased as they watched her take her first bite of what Tamaki called "international sushi." In actuality, it was basic sushi, but made with the finest of ingredients from all over the world. In Haruhi's case, she was eating sushi topped with the Iranian Almas caviar. Even though she was a commoner, she noticed the richness and quality of the ingredients of the food before her, and found herself in heaven.

Hanami, however, stared at her meal and picked at it. She was not a fan of seafood. Additionally, the fact that she could afford these foods did nothing to increase her appetite, for she had lived as a commoner her whole life and was even less accustomed than Haruhi to these foods, being a foreigner. Granted, dignitaries had begged for her company for dinners in America, and she had gone to several but cleverly avoided many.

She scanned her plate for something familiar, and in the end ate only a choice cut of Wagyu beef and potatoes gratine, made from French "La Bonnotte" potatoes.

And to top it all off? She was already quite hungry.

'Oh, well,' she thought. 'Maybe if I drink some creamy coffee then I'll feel full.' Hanami then waved for a chef to come over, and had to wait a few minutes (in the kitchen, the chefs were battling to see who would get to serve the famous girl.) Eventually, one came over and took her request for some coffee.

When the small cup of Kopi Luwak came, Hanami doused the steamy black beverage with as much creamer as possible. Never mind the fact that it was around fifty US dollars a cup and that she was cheapening its taste! She was freaking hungry!

Kyouya happened to be watching Hanami's lack of appetite, and chuckled. It seemed that 100% commoner Haruhi was better suited to the ways of the rich than a 15-year-old CEO.

"Ah, Hanami-kun. I have a question for you." He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. Nobody noticed the new conversation taking place, as the others were busy piling Haruhi's plate sky-high.

"Yeah?" Hanami focused on clutching the coffee, her lifeline, as hard as possible, letting the heat transfer through the Suzushima Brand coffee cup. "Shoot."

"I've been researching you a bit. Now, please don't be alarmed, I intend no ill-intent. Anyway. By any chance, are you here in Japan to notify your relatives of your marriage to Richard-"

"PRICE?!" Hanami spit out the tiny sip of coffee she had taken, interrupting Kyouya's sentence (much to his dislike.) "What the hell? What are the tabloids saying now?"

"Apparently you two are engaged."

"Uh…. No. I'm not engaged, Never consented to anything." That was certainly weird… Hanami shook her head, trying to block out the horrifying mental images the notion brought. That pervert, engaged to her? It was very disturbing, and Hanami grimly wondered who could have created such a rumor. Probably Richard himself.

Hanami's piFone vibrated in her pocket, and she quickly retrieved it. She stared at the screen a bit strangely, finding an unknown American number. Tentatively, she tapped the touch screen to accept the call and slowly brought the phone to her ear.

"Hello, my dear." A slick, malicious voice came through the device. Hanami froze and dropped the phone.

"Hm?" Kyouya bent to pick it up, then answering it himself as Hanami sat, petrified. The rests of the hosts looked up curiously.

"Hello. This is Kyouya Ootori. May I ask what business you have with Hanami?" Kyouya's English was immaculate.

"Get lost, bastard. My business with her is between us."

Kyouya merely raised both eyebrows and places the phone back in Hanami's hand. She stiffly brought it back to her ear.

"Listen up, bitch. I'm assuming you know about our engagement, as I put that tidbit in People and TIME magazine. You are to go along with this arrangement. Or, at least, pretend to."

"Why?" whispered Hanami, her voice barely audible, even in the deafening silence of the room.

"Because I've got your mother under my thumb. Either you play along or you never see her again." Richard, on the other end, laughed mirthlessly. "I _love _you, bitch." With the final taunt, the line went dead and Hanami numbly tapped the touch screen.

The rest of the host club, by now, were quite intrigued, yet worried as well. They had been watching the scene, a bit wary of Hanami. Her face had gone slack with shock, but they all could see the apparent fear in her eyes.

"Um." Hikaru reached over and waved his hand across her face.

"Are you okay?" asked Kaoru.

"Hana-chan?" Honey asked very, very timidly. Hanami was scaring him. She looked so scared.

"Hanami." Mori stood up. He had to protect Honey's and his friends, as it was part of his life ideals. Whoever it was, Mori swore to serve justice.

"Hana-kun, are you all right? Who was that?" Tamaki asked tentatively, Haruhi leaning on his arm in order to look at Hanami, concerned.

Hanami did not meet any of their eyes. She merely looked ahead blankly, eyes filled with fear. Thoughts were raging in her head. 'What do I do…' she thought, exhaling very shakily.

Kyouya, who had been sitting next to her, had been able to hear everything that Richard had said to Hanami. This Richard fellow was quite rude. For a second-in-command, his word choice was certainly colorful. This was a very interesting turn of events, Kyouya felt. Negatively interesting, but interesting nonetheless. Even so, Kyouya was irked by this Price person. He whipped out his own cell phone and contacted Tachibana, ordering him to alert the Ootori private police.

"Hanami-kun, my private police will protect you from now on." Kyouya stated.

Hanami nodded unfeelingly. Kyouya blinked. Under normal circumstances, Hanami would have defied him. Whoa…

Hanami stood up slowly, using the table to steady herself.

"I-I think I'll go to sleep now…" her voice trailed off and she fell to a heap on the cold marble floor.

"HANAMI!" everyone yelled, Mori speeding over to pick her up.

Everyone followed Mori as he walked down the hallways to bring her to Kyouya's room. He laid her on the couch gently, and all around the hosts Kyouya's family staff brought in luxurious beds for all the other members. Tonight it was unsafe for them to all sleep alone.

**A/N**

**ZOMG! Sorry, sorry, ANOTHER cliffhanger, and a extremely long and dramatic chapter! I hoped you liked it, even though it was a far different mood than those of he past few chapters. Finally, the plot thickens. All that fluff.. it was too much for me. Nekozawa told me to add more darkness.. I'll be updating soon! Please continue to review! But no flames please. PLEASE TELL MY WHAT YOU THINK!! It's really great… And again, sorry for superlong chapter.**

**DISCLAIMER: I'm not the most creative person in the world of anime and manga, therefore I do not own Ouran High School Host Club and any characters affliated with it. I wish. This goes for all chapters of this story. I also do not own Google or People Magazine, Time Magazine, or Wikipedia. Any references to real life objects are allusion.**


	8. Small Resolutions

Hanami blearily cracked her eyes open a little bit, wondering where she was. This room wasn't the one she had slept in the other night, and she saw that all the other hosts were in the same room as well. All the others had woken up, save for Honey and Kyouya. Hanami stretched her arms and yawned widely, staring at the glints of sunlight that had begun to stream through the windows.

"Hanami-chan, are you okay?" Haruhi sat on the edge of the couch where Hanami had been sleeping.

"Huh? Why wouldn't I be?" asked Hanami, thoroughly confused. Her eyes swept the room again. She panned the room, seeing concerned looks on Tamaki, Hikaru, Kaoru, and Mori's faces. Hanami, still confused looked down at her lap, trying to avoid everyone's gaze. It was in her lap that she saw her piFone, and the memories of last night rushed back to her. Her breath quickened and she found herself unable to take her eyes off the sleek black touchscreen. With a shaky hand, she reached out, tentatively, and grasped the phone. This task required all of Hanami's strong will, as the demonic device frightened her greatly. Trembling, Hanami placed the phone on the coffee counter beside her and placed a nearby handkerchief over it to block out its sight.

"Hanami-san… what happened?" Tamaki knelt in front of the girl, Haruhi looking on in support. With a fatherlike gesture, Tamaki reached out a hand to push Hanami's short hair away from her face.

Hanami inhaled shakily, her lips moving but unable to respond. Her hands clutched the blanket on top of her so hard that her knuckles turned white.

By now, Kyouya was already awake and had sleepily staggered over to plop in a comfy chair. He groped around on the coffee table to find his signature black folder. With a heavy sigh, he flipped it open and riffled through some pages, finally finding what he was looking for. Yawning, he gestured for Tamaki to come and read from it.

With a solemn face, Tamaki retrieved the folder and took a seat on the other side of the table.

"Um.." Tamaki cleared his throat. "…Richard Henry Price, age twenty-four, Vice Chief Executive Officer of Pineapple Computations. Born in Seattle, Washington. Son of Elizabeth Evangeline Fairchild and Henry Darrell Price, only child. Raised as a commoner, had challenging childhood. Valedictorian at local high school. Received full scholarship to the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Exceedingly intelligent student. Received only internship position at Pineapple Computations at age 20, quickly moving up the ranks. Falsely rumored to be engaged to Hanami Fujioka."

Hanami did nothing the whole time Tamaki was reading the file.

"Well, he _sounds _nice. But, since we don't know what happened, then we'll never know, will we?" Hikaru scoffed.

Kyouya's smooth voice cut in. "He has Hanami-kun's mother under some sort of control. Additionally, he's using this information to blackmail Hanami-kun into marrying him, or at least pretending to. Lastly, he's been slightly suspected of masterminding Hanami-kun's stepfather's car accident, meaning, he might have been the reason why Stephen Rosenthal was killed. He's a power-hungry man who will stop at nothing to reach the top, or so it seems."

Hanami blinked. Haruhi glanced at her cousin, who looked up. There was a glitter in Hanami's eyes like Haruhi had never seen before.

"He's not getting away with this." Hanami said in a very, very, _very _low voice, malice dripping with every word. "No matter how I do it, I'll get to the bottom of this."

Tamaki jumped up.

"Not to worry, princess! The Ouran Academy Host Club will defend you!" he punched his fist in the air triumphantly.

"No thanks. I know Richard. He's a perv and a creep, but he's extremely intelligent. I wouldn't put anything past him. When I find out what he's got over my mother, I will return to America and beat the crap out of him!" The fire had returned to Hanami's voice and eyes. Apparently, the shock of last night had cultivated into dark, dark anger. She ripped the covers off of her and grabbed her piFone, angrily tapping out the code for her international phone card. She then called her hometown's local police, to whom she had become friendly with after inheriting her stepfather's country. Being a celebrity had its benefits…

---------------

"Hey, Officer Riddell? Yeah. It's me, Hanna. You remember that creepy guy, Richard? Who worked under my dad? Yeah! The one with the crooked nose. Mm-hmm. Well, he called me last night, threatening me. He said something like he had my mother under his thumb, and he was blackmailing me to act like I was engaged with him. Yes. Please shoot him dead. Oh, you can't do that? Well, please inform Detective Schreiner of this, I'd like him on the case." Hanami chatted on and on, to the point where the hosts were now bored with this previously exciting experience. Eventually, Hanami pocketed her phone.

"Hanna?" Kaoru questioned, smirking.

"Well, do you really expect Americans to be able to pronounce 'Hanami' correctly, without an American accent?" Hanami demanded, obviously back to her normal self. She decided to call her close step-uncle, who was a large part of the Rosenthal conglomerate as well.

"Hanami! Are you all right?" The hearty voice of her uncle (her stepfather's brother), Derek Rosenthal, soothed Hanami.

"Yeah, I'm fine. But I'm afraid my mother isn't! Richard has her, or something!"

"Huh? No, she's here, at my house! Why would Richard have her? I thought he would be up to something, so I asked your mom to live with your aunt, cousins, and I. Why, did Richard do something to her?" her uncle sounded genuinely surprised, so Hanami told him the details. "Oh. I don't think that's true. Calm down! Everything will be all right. I'll keep an eye on him, nevertheless. Oooh, Baby Annika's crying, I gotta go, okay, Hanami?"

Hanami ended the call, feeling a sense of peace. She spilled the good news to the host club, who rejoiced.

Kyouya, however, was still suspicious. Why would have Richard said such things last night unless there was no validation? If he really was so intelligent, he probably had something else up his sleeve.

"Hanami, keep your guard up." He advised. "My private police are still going to protect you."

Hanami, who had been utterly relieved, was a bit pissed that her bubble of joy had been popped, now that worry was leaking in again.

"Oh, but don't let that hinder you from being a good host." Added Kyouya.

Hanami ignored this. As long as her mother was okay, she'd be okay. But… keeping her eyes open _would_ be a good idea… Hanami kept that thought in the back of her mind.

------------------

And so, time went on again. Hanami enjoyed the spring, going to all the festivals and seeing the beautiful _sakura_ blossoms. For all of the hosts, except for one, the Richard incident was soon forgotten. Kyouya never forgot a thing, and there was something darkly perplexing about Hanami's problem. It had happened so suddenly, so…so…so out-of-the-blue, that Kyouya thought all his colleagues were idiots for dismissing it so quickly. It was also strange that Richard had made no other strikes after that one.

Kyouya kept researching, only finding one or two helpful tidbits every so often. He dispatched some of his personal servants to investigate in America, and also at the Pineapple Computations headquarters in Japan. However, he found nothing. He pushed this incident to the farther reaches of his mind, in his subconscious. He focused back to normal things, but resolved not to forget this.

Back in America, a man was sitting in the Pineapple Computations' chief executive's chair, delicately touching the tips of his fingertips together. A phone was on the table, with a call currently on speakerphone.

"Amelia, my darling. There is nothing to worry about. I haven't done anything several weeks now. In fact, your idiot of a daughter thinks the threat has passed. Not to worry. I'll treat her…kindly. Oh? Nothing to say? Well, that's a wise decision. Wouldn't want you to be the reason for her…untimely death, no? I'm glad we agree. Good night!"

A beep sounded and the man grinned in the darkness of the evening.

---------------------

On a lighter note, back in Japan, trouble was stirring. Trouble of the most fatal and dangerous kind.

"HANAMI-SAN! YOU GET BACK HERE!" Tamaki hollered at the host. After a few months of hostly friendship, he had grown well accustomed to the girl. And now, she was one of his closest friends and worst rivals. "THERE'S NO WAY I'M LOSING TO YOU!" Tamaki tripped over some invisible wire that Hanami had set up, causing him to crash into the slick marble floor.

Hanami walked over to Tamaki, followed by all of her customers.

"If you think you're going to win those photos of baby Haruhi, you're mad. Oh, and baby Haruhi is _naked_ in some of those pictures…." Hanami taunted.

Tamaki turned a bright shade of red, which the twins noticed.

"Oh….? What's this? Is Milord really that much of a pervert?"

"WHAT? NO! I'M NOT! REALLY!!! WAIT, HIKARU, KAORU, WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HARUHI?!?!?!"

**A/N: I had fun with this chapter. If was good to return to fluff, which is so much easier to write. More suspense to come! Please review!**

**DISLAIMER: I'm too dumb to invent Ouran High School Host Club. I don't own it.**


	9. Visitors

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Ouran, it belongs to VIZ Media, FUNimation, and Bisco Hatori.**

"Tamaki…Suou…" Hanami typed into the prototype of the new Pineapple laptop. "Tamaki…Suou…" There was something about him that piqued her curiosity. Maybe it was because she sensed some romantic tension between him and her cousin, or that his name sounded familiar.

_Oh, yeah, Kyouya-senpai told me that Tamaki's full name was René Tamaki Richard Grantaine. How flamboyant. Just like him, I guess. _

Hanami typed in Tamaki's full name into the search engine, coming up with a rather large number of results.

Eventually she came upon a site belonging to a gossip column that had gone out of business seventeen years ago. It slandered the Suou family name, proclaiming of Yuzuru Suou's love affair with a French aristocrat with the surname Grantaine.

Apparently, Tamaki was an illegitimate child, but as Yuzuru had no other children, Tamaki was the heir apparent. That was news to Hanami, as she had certainly not been around seventeen years ago. She searched for a picture of Tamaki's mother online, but found none of quality.

Most of them had her face blurred, either intentionally or unintentionally.

_Whatever. _Thought Hanami, leaving the subject. She closed her laptop, stuffed it in her backpack, and raced out the door to call Haruhi for their walk to school. (Yes, Hanami used a backpack although the rest of Ouran's student body carried bookbags. Hanami felt that she needed some sense of Americanism…)

--------------------------

"Ranka-san, Haruhi left already?" Hanami asked, quite dejectedly. "I see." She trudged down the stairs to begin her lonely walk to school. _Why did Haruhi leave without me? _Hanami desolately wondered. _That's strange. _

-------------------------

"KYOUYA OOTORI!" Haruhi yelled in the safety of the third music room. "HOW DARE YOU!" Haruhi usually rarely yelled at anyone, even more so at the scary Shadow king.

"Excuse me? What seems to be the matter?" Kyouya smiled calmly. "Oh. Are you displeased at the photos Ranka gave to me? Your baby photos. Quite interesting, those."

"YES! THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I'M PISSED AT!"

"You're lucky that club isn't in session in the mornings. This would be a horrifying way to host. Screaming? Really, Haruhi, I thought you were above that."

Haruhi opened her mouth to say something, but the door banged open to reveal Hanami and Tamaki, both out of breath.

_What?! Tamaki-senpai's with Hanami this early already? _Haruhi felt a bit irritated, and wasn't sure why.

"Haruhi! How could you worry us like that?" The two panted between each word.

"What?" Haruhi scowled, mostly at Hanami.

Hanami leaned over, steadying herself with her hands on her knees.

"I…huh…raced over here…huh…because…huff…you weren't…hahh…at home. Ta-tamaki-senpai…heh… saw…me…huf huf…running, and picked…uh…me up." Tamaki nodded fervently.

"We were worried about you! I had thought that you had fled to Karuizawa again." Tamaki ran over to smother Haruhi in a fatherly hug. Her heart warmed a little and she stopped glaring at Kyouya.

"Oh! Kyouya! Who won those photos of Haruhi?" Tamaki asked, causing Haruhi to frown again.

"Hmmmm? Oh, the baby photos? Well, Haruhi, of course. Since she came early to the club meeting I called today. We haven't figured out any cosplay options for any upcoming events. Tamaki, you're falling behind schedule." Kyouya pushed up his glasses. "Ah, Hanami-"

Hanami looked up instantly to look attentively at her senpai. "Yes?"

"Since you're relatively new to this club, why don't you pick the next cosplay?"

"ME?!" Hanami was honored and scared to be chosen by Kyouya to handle an important club detailed. "Ah. Um. How about…" She stalled. "How about we dress up as commoners?"

"Commoners?" Kyouya questioned.

"Commoners?" Tamaki looked up interestedly.

"Commoners?" Haruhi was offended.

"Commoners?" The twins, who were just walking in, slapped Hanami a five.

"Commoners?" Honey thought it would be fun.

"Ah." Mori agreed.

"Uh…Yeah. Commoners. So, this means, no brand names, no flamboyant accessories, no suits, no ties. Just simple, comfortable clothes! We can ask customers to do the same, as an experiment, and we can go to Kyouya's 'Ootori Aqua Gardens' to have a picnic. A simple picnic, with lots of snacks."

"OH! I see! Another exploration of the commoner culture!" Tamaki and the twins were very enthusiastic.

"The profits would be quite high, as we would use the cheap commoner materials." Kyouya was warming up to the idea. Honey and Mori didn't mind, and Haruhi was happy the wear her normal clothes for once.

Hanami glanced around nervously, and when she saw the seven smiles, she smiled back.

----------------------------

Suddenly, a knock was heard on the door.

"Who is it? Come in, please." Kyouya called out, instantly suspicious. How did anyone know there was a club meeting this morning?

The door opened and a beautiful Caucasian teenager stepped into the room. He was around the same height as Mori, standing at six feet two inches, and had beautiful green eyes paired with shining dark brown hair. He had an undisciplined smile, and seemed kindhearted. The host club stared in awe, save for Hanami and Kyouya.

She was staring in horror. _No… How did he find me here?_

"Hana…" The man apparently spoke in English. "Please don't be afraid. I don't mean any harm. Richard-"

Hanami's face blanched and she turned a deathly pale at the sound of that name.

"Richard sent me to say he didn't know what came over him. I'm here to be your personal escort and bodyguard, as a means of his apology."

Kyouya felt that he should step in.

"Excuse me, sir," he spoke in Japanese, but translated it to English. "I believe you're giving our friend here a shock. May we ask who you are?"

"Me? I'm Jared Price, Richard's nephew. I've been Hana's friend since we were children. I _do_ work at PineComp, under my uncle. I mean, under Hana, now." Jared, apparently, could speak Japanese quite fluently. "I've come to make reconciliations between my uncle and Hana."

_Hana?_ Tamaki figured that this was Jared's nickname for Hanami.

"NO!" Hanami's yell shocked everyone. "You-You're working for HIM! Stay away from me!" The fear was apparent in her eyes.

"No, Hana, er, Hanami, No! That's not true! He didn't mean it! He forgot to take his medicine or something! Please, Hana, I really had nothing to do with this! Really! I came to Japan on my own, without his orders! He asked me to help him, and it was my choice! This wasn't because I'm working for him!" Jared reached for Hanami, but she flinched away.

"Kyouya-senpai." Hanami said, her face hidden from everyone.

"Yes, 'Daichi'?"

"I'm going home. Please tell Tamaki's father that I will be absent. And cancel all my appointments for club for today."

"Are you sure about this?" Kyouya's voice was strangely compassionate and soft.

"Yeah." Hanami turned to face Jared. She looked up, fear, anger, and worry in her eyes. "As for you-I'll speak with you later. Please come to my home at 5 PM tonight, no later. Haruhi will give you the address." Hanami walked out of the room slowly, and everyone watched her disappearing form.

"What have I done?" Jared sank into a nearby chair, holding his head in his hands. "I was only trying to help."

"Well, it looks like you didn't." Kyouya felt furious with this random guy he had never met. Why was this? It was weird.

Haruhi was still very confused. She raced after Hanami, yelling at Kyouya to excuse her for the day as well, and shouting the directions to Hanami's house to Jared. Tamaki followed suit, and eventually everyone left the club room to search for Hanami.

Kyouya noticed Hanami's backpack still on a chair, a pineapple-shaped light glowing through the thin fabric. He opened the bag to find Hanami's laptop still on. He placed it gently on the table and opened it, surprised to find it opened to Tamaki's Wiki page.

Kyouya looked up, wondering what this all meant.

He walked to the superintendent's office to explain all the absences today, and went to pick up everyone's schoolwork for the day. Tachibana drove the car up to the front of the school, and Kyouya told him to drive to the Ootori Aqua Gardens. He had a feeling that Hanami hadn't gone straight home.

**AUTHOR'S SCRIBBLES: Hey all! Thanks for reading yet another LONG chapter of N(CSI)! I'm contemplating the sequel to this already, so I know how it's all going to end. I'll post some spoilers at the end of this author's note, so beware! :D**

**Anyway. I am so sorry for not updating quickly, but I've been Mapling a lot recently. I've gotten up to 74K already! But I'll be updating soon. I promise!**

**Please send in some ideas for future chapters! I'd like to see your ideas! I'll use the best ones for upcoming chapters. This goes for all my stories, so please post your ideas on the review sections on whichever story you have an idea for. **

**Scroll **

**For **

**Spoilers:**

The end of this story will be a parallel to the Éclair parts of the anime. Éclair will come, but things are more drastic. Someone even gets shot! Simultaneously, Richard's part comes in at the same time as Éclair's. It'll be longer than in the anime, though. Someone gets kidnapped as well, to be returned on the day of the festival.

The sequel WILL be a Kyouya/Hanami fic. Yes. I know, there's a lot of Kyouya/OC fics. Sorry! But I really like Kyou-chan. I must use him for a fic like this. Also, there's some TamaHaru as well.


	10. Sentiments

"……Crap." Hanami sat on the cold tile floor, watching the waves in the wave pool.

After seeing her old friend Jared, she felt that she couldn't cope with the day's events. The Ootori private Aqua Gardens was her idea for the day's picnic, so she decided to escape to the aesthetic environment.

Hanami hugged her knees closer to her body as her mind raced with thoughts. She was filled with questions: Did Jared really come on his own accord?

Before Hanami had left for Japan, Jared had confessed his love for her, but she honestly had no idea how to respond to that. She had suspicions that Richard had convinced Jared to pretend to be in love OR actually fall in love with her.

But she couldn't be so paranoid, especially since Jared was a close childhood friend. He just complicated things, though. Hanami rested her chin on her arms and sighed.

"Crap. Crapcrapcrap." She couldn't think of anything else to say, so she simply watched the waves some more.

"You know, I had expected you to have a larger vocabulary than that." A smooth voice cut the silence, and precise footsteps advanced towards Hanami.

Hanami spun around, a bit too quickly, causing her to topple to the floor.

A pair of well-polished shoes came into Hanami's sight and an elegant hand reached out to her. She took it and stood up.

"I had an inkling that you would be here." Kyouya looked down at Hanami a bit amusedly. "Does your little friend scare you that much?"

_Did I hear that correctly? Was Kyouya's voice icier than usual? _Hanami blinked. "No, I guess not. We've been friends forever, but…recent…events have caused me to raise suspicions. I can't just believe that Richard wants forgiveness."

"Here, sit, sit." Kyouya gestured to a table nearby. "It seems you have a few things to discuss."

Hanami took a fruit cocktail that Tachibana offered to her gratefully. "Thanks."

"Ah. I believe these are yours." Kyouya slid Hanami's bookbag, schoolwork, and homework across the table. "And this."

He carefully placed her exceptionally high-quality Pineapple Laptop onto the table.

"Would you like to share your interest in Tamaki?" Kyouya felt that he knew the reason why Hanami was interested in Tamaki.

"THAT'S BESIDE THE POINT!" Hanami yelled, exasperated. "I'm under a lot of stress and worry right now. Can we not talk about my family members?"

"Family……members?"

Hanami clapped her hands over her mouth. "Oops."

"Care to explain?" _This could certainly turn out to be an interesting situation. _Kyouya gave his characteristic sly grin.

Hanami looked right, left, anywhere, looking for a way out. Finally, she sighed and spilled. "Okay. So, it turns out the Tamaki-senpai's mother, Miss Grantaine, is my stepfather's cousin. So Tamaki-senpai is my step-second cousin. I think. If I'm correct, I am step-related to him."

"That's what I thought." Kyouya was now uninterested. "Now, to discuss the matters of your safety… As I might have mentioned before, I have asked some of the Ootori Private Police to be your personal bodyguards. Especially since the Cultural Festival is coming up in about a month, I think that your safety is rather more endangered."

"I guess. I mean, do we have to make a big deal out of this?" Hanami sighed. "I feel crappy enough about this already."

"I'm assuming that you don't want to make a big deal about this because you don't want to believe that your life is in THAT much danger." Kyouya frowned at the girl before him. "Escaping reality is not exactly the best answer to your problems."

"…I suppose." Hanami took a small, tentative sip out of the fruity concoction. She drew her gaze up to meet Kyouya's intense yet cold stare. "Thanks, I guess. For taking so much concern about me. I'm really grateful to all of you host members."

"I see." Both were silent for a few moments. "Well, we should meet up with the others. The rest didn't figure out that you would most likely come here." Kyouya stood and turned towards the exit.

"Kyouya-senpai?"

"Hm?" He looked over his shoulder.

Hanami stared at the floor, unsure of why she called his name out. She had felt compelled to clutch onto him as a little child, or a girlfriend would.

"Um… never mind." _Girlfriend? Why did I think that?! Is there something wrong with me?_

"If you say so." Kyouya continued his journey to the exit. For some reason, he sensed Hanami's presence more intensely than ever.

---------------

"It's five… and Hana isn't here…" Jared stared out of Haruhi's window, anticipating a sign of the girl.

"She'll be here." Haruhi sighed. The atmosphere in the room was extremely tense; nobody had really said anything. Small talk appeared to be the "big talk." "Um…let me go check outside really fast."

Haruhi walked tiredly down the stairs and stood in front of Hanami's house. She scanned the parking lot for any ritzy cars, and it just so happened that one pulled up on the street.

Two figures exited the vehicle, one around three inches shorter than the other. It appeared to be a boy and a girl, and the girl seemed distressed. The boy reached out a hand to comfort the girl by tenderly tucking her hair behind her ear.

The girl took a deep breath, and the two proceeded towards Hanami's house.

"Hanami? Is that you?" Haruhi called out, concerned. It seemed that Hanami would have no more ordinary days in her life.

"Yeah." Hanami walked slowly up to her cousin and enveloped Haruhi in a sad hug. Haruhi, who could just barely rest her head on Hanami's shoulder, rubbed her cousin's back comfortingly.

Behind the two, Kyouya cleared his throat. "I'm going to go have a word with Jared." Then he left to go upstairs.

"Haruhi…" Hanami had so much to say that couldn't be put in words. "I don't know what to do anymore."

"Just hear him out, Hana-chan. Just hear him out. It'll be okay, you'll see."

"Okay."

Hanami and Haruhi entered Hanami's house to wait for the others.

-------------------

The door clicked opened, and everyone looked up to find Kyouya standing there.

"Kyou-chan?" Honey asked.

"Kyouya… where are Haruhi and Hanami?" Tamaki questioned.

"Downstairs."

Jared picked up his coat and moved towards the door, but Kyouya stuck out an arm, stopping Jared in his tracks.

"Huh?"

In perfect English, Kyouya's cold response came.

"I believe we need to talk."

**A/N: Well, that was monumental. No, sorry, I know I should have written less emotional stuff, or at least put in some action or something. I know, this chap was really angst-y, but I wanted to write a somewhat sentimental chapter to lead in to Hanami's feelings for Kyouya. I dunno. The next chapter will be centered around Jared, his story, and his history with Hanami as well as his relationship with his uncle, in case you're wondering. **

**I'm sorry, haven't updated recently, but writer's block was killing me for the longest time. I hope I can write more and get more reviews because it's summer! SO please continue~**

**Thank you! And: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club or whatever is affiliated with it. It's FUNimation's, BONES', and Bisco Hatori's. **

**If you found any errors in my writing (for any chapter) please message me so I can fix them. :D Thanks!**


	11. Corrections

"Talk?" Jared grabbed Kyouya's arm tightly and stared into Kyouya's eyes, a desperate expression on his face. "Talk? What is there to talk about?!" He slumped to the floor.

"She hates me now. There's nothing I can say to you. I feel like a horrible human being. Hana probably hates me. Is there anything I can do right?" Jared continued.

Kyouya shook his arm free gently, his face still set in a cold gaze.

"Please, sit." Icily, Kyouya gestured towards a cushion on the floor. Still standing, he addressed Jared.

"You are Jared Price, yes? Richard's nephew. You were childhood friends with Hanami, but now work under her company."

"Yes, all that is true."

"Why do you feel that the two should reconcile? Is not Hanami happy here, away from your uncle? With all of us standing around her, she needs no more physical protection. Your coming has no doubt affected her emotionally." Kyouya's voice grew lower.

"What is your connection to Hana?!" Jared was beginning to get angry. "You act like you're her boyfriend or brother! You probably don't mean anything to her."

Kyouya felt a flash of anger, but hid it. Instead, he asked the same question of Jared.

"What of you, hm? Other than being her childhood friend, what gives you the right to invade in Hanami's life again?" Kyouya's smooth voice was magnified in by the silence.

"I _LOVE _her!" Jared yelled, clenching his eyes tightly. "I have loved her since we were kids! And now she hates me. All because of my uncle." A single tear slid down Jared's cheek.

Kyouya heard a shocked gasp behind him, and turned around. Hanami was standing in the doorway, Haruhi behind her. Her eyes were staring at Jared on the floor.

Jared looked up and saw Hanami. His sad eyes searched hers for an answer.

Hanami turned her face away.

"Jared…" she sighed. "What do you want from me?"

"Hana-"

"_WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!" _ Hanami raised her voice considerably.

"Hanami-" started Kyouya.

"Shut up. This doesn't involve you, Kyouya-senpai. I'd advise you to butt out."

"Excuse me? Your safety involves me, I think." Kyouya was about to say something else, but stopped and said instead, "How can I let a fellow host be harmed?" He composed himself.

"Is that all you care about?" Haruhi was shocked. "Surely she means more to you than that!"

Kyouya found that he couldn't answer.

------------------------

"Hana. Please, please, hear me out. I'm not here under my uncle's orders. I don't want anything from you but your forgiveness." Jared broke the silence.

"Forgiveness?" Hanami laughed mirthlessly. "For who? Perhaps this is your own guilt. You have no right coming to Japan in an attempt to make reconciliations for your damn uncle."

"LISTEN! Hana, I never wanted to hurt you! I just didn't want you to hate me OR my uncle. That's why I came. I know that I was too rash when I told you my feelings before you left. You couldn't handle it. I understand. I'll wait for you as long as you need, but I don't want you to feel any cruelties towards me or my family."

Hanami was silent for the while, letting Jared's words sink in.

"What…"

Jared's expression became hopeful.

"What the hell?"

His face was now confused.

Hanami looked back at him, a fierceness in her eyes.

"What the _hell?" _She repeated. "Why are you talking as if I love you back? You're speaking as if we're going to get married. Like I need to _like_ your uncle."

Jared was now more confused than ever.

"What? Didn't you say……" his face paled. Still looking horrifically in Hanami's eyes, he slowly reached into his pocket and drew out an envelope which looked as if it had been opened many times.

"What is that?" Hanami eyed the paper warily.

Jared held the envelope towards her, still pale.

Kyouya intercepted the pass, opening the envelope and reading the letter enclosed. All eyes were on him as he concentrated on the page.

"Oh….my…..god."

------------------------

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN OURAN! It is the property of Bisco Hatori, VIZ media, and FUNimation.

Please review! Sorry for not posting in a while.


	12. Movement

Jared's shoulders slumped, the boy obviously crestfallen.

"So it isn't true." He sighed, taking shallow breaths in a panic.

"What? What isn't true? KYOUYA-SENPAI!" Hanami snatched the paper from his hands in horrified anticipation. Her eyes quickly scanned the page.

Her mouth fell open.

Hanami had a strong urge to toss the paper to the floor with a "Pssh. Yeah right, it's true," quite scornfully, but she held back her evil thoughts and looked at her old friend with pity.

"No. Jared, I never wrote this letter to you. I should think that I would at least call the person I was supposed to marry on the phone. Richard probably wrote this to make peace, hoping that I'd pity you and marry you. I'm sorry, Jared. I don't like you in that way. This letter, this acceptance to your marriage proposal for when I turn 18, wasn't mine. I never decided this. I'm sorry to let you down." Hanami knew that she should be kinder, but she never wanted a soap-opera life and was extremely pissed.

She looked up to find Kyouya gaping at her, his beautiful face drawn into a look of anger, horror, and shock.

"What-"

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?! IS THAT HOW YOU RESPOND TO A FAKE LETTER OF YOUR MARRIAGE TO HIM?" Kyouya raised his voice at Hanami, just under a scream.

Hanami opened her mouth to speak, but Kyouya cut in.

"NO, you be QUIET. There are several things wrong here! Firstly, did you not notice that it was a letter 'from you' saying that you agreed to marry Jared? And that's not the only thing. DO YOU REALIZE THAT THIS IS A QUESTION TO YOUR SAFETY?" Kyouya had grabbed her by the shoulders and was now yelling at Hanami in the face.

She looked at him, utterly shocked. She had never seen Kyouya burst out like that. His eyes looked at hers searchingly, frantically, a Kyouya that frightened Hanami.

Kyouya realized that the others were looking at him in that same shell-shocked expression. He discovered that he had been yelling and struggled to restore his usual self-control.

_Damn it! Why did I do that? I don't even know, myself. It's uncharacteristic of me to have outbursts. What IS the matter with me? I feel so uneasy, so envious, so scared, so protective, so heated, so angry, AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY. I would usually be courteous to a man of social standing as Jared, but for some reason I hate him with all of my heart. Don't I always keep my enemies close? Why is it that I cannot hold myself back when he's around? Why is it that I can't even pretend to be nice to him?_

"Kyouya. Don't you think you've gone too far?" Tamaki looked worriedly at his best friend.

"Don't give me crap. What if it was Haruhi who was in this situation?"

Tamaki yelped and ran over to his little tanuki and held her tight in his arms, not intending to let go.

"Getoffme!" Haruhi pinched the back of Tamaki's hand, then added force when she thought that she looked like she was being playful with him.

Hanami, who was in shocked tears, had an inkling that Haruhi liked Tamaki back, but quickly focused back onto her own thoughts.

"Oh, dear." Kyouya sighed. "Hanami-san…I…I didn't mean to yell at you. Please realize that your safety is important."

Hanami hiccupped a little and nodded, wiping her eyes.

_Why? WHY WHY WHY WHY? Why does Hanami-san's safety concern me so much!_ Kyouya was having an inner civil war. But on the outside, he used extreme self control to semi-politely escort Jared away, with a check for an airplane ticket back to the United States. Kyouya patted his pocket, making sure that the marriage proposal letter was stowed safely.

"Well. That was fun, but we've got an essay due tomorrow and our teacher refuses to be bribed after a certain time in the evening, so we'll be taking our leave now. Can you kids handle this on your own?" The twins teased, trying to make light of the situation.

"Hah. Yeah, go ahead." Hanami sniffed and waved them away.

------------

------------

Soon, all the hosts had left, save for Tamaki, Haruhi, and Kyouya.

"I know that you don't like being fussed over and taken care of, Hanami, but I agree with Kyouya. Your safety is an issue if people are trying to get you to marry others. You need to watch out." Haruhi chided Hanami, acting like a miniature mother hen.

As proud as he was of Haruhi, Tamaki focused on the problem at hand. "I agree as well. Your life isn't exactly safe anymore. We all know Richard is trying to get you now. But what can we do to ensure your security?"

"I've already arranged to have Hotta be Hanami-san's personal escort, and several of my private police have been called in to stand guard around this area." Kyouya said curtly, crossing his arms.

Hanami, seated nearby Kyouya, shrank away in fear. She was scared that he might burst out again. "I'm fine, you guys. Leave me alone, I don't need security."

All three looked at her, shaking their heads as a parent does to a disobeying child. "Hanami, I don't think you should live around here anymore." Kyouya interjected.

"It's not like I have anywhere else to go. Lay off me." Hanami muttered.

"No, Hanami-chan. I think Kyouya's right…you can't live here. They, whoever they are, have your address, and Haruhi's too. It isn't safe for either of you. I think I can arrange for Ranka-san to lodge with Misuzu until this all blows over… But I'm not sure about you two…" For once in his life, Tamaki was acting serious. Kyouya was impressed.

"Oh. _I _have an idea… How about I continue living here, and you and Haruhi can carry on in a romantic rendezvous together?" Hanami was quite irritated. "Because I think I can defend myself. Like I said, LAY OFF."

"What makes you think you can defend yourself?" Kyouya asked, glaring degradingly at Hanami.

"Um. Maybe years of training in the martial freaking arts?" muttered Hanami. "Leave me alone! Don't you get that I don't like being dependent on someone else? Both of my fathers have left me to go to another world, so I've had to learn to manage on my own! I happen to be the heir to the Pineapple throne, and I do think I can take care of myself without anyone's help!" she hissed.

"HANAMI! Don't screw around with me," Kyouya snapped and dropped the honorific, surprising Hanami. "You're not a normal teenage girl anymore. You're an ICON. Can you please realize that and get off your high horse?"

He paused to meet her gaze. Hanami stared, noticing something strange in his look.

"Maybe your fighting skills would have been fine in hand-to-hand combat against a potential rapist. But here? In the business world? You won't stand a chance. Hanami-san. People play dirty around here. There will be some who will not stop until they see you dead, your family dead, your friends dead… They will have enough power and money to do the unimaginable, for example, forging your letters. Manipulation is not forbidden at all. Please, Hanami-san. Take that into consideration."

Tamaki nodded in agreement with his closest friend's story. "Hanami, please take this into consideration. It _would _be beneficial to you both to live elsewhere for a while."

He stopped, then thought for a while.

"Because then you would be safe, and Haruhi could eat ootoro!" He remembered his thought.

Hanami sighed, Haruhi doing the same.

"Well…I guess It couldn't hurt to check into the Four Seasons in Tokyo's Marunouchi Business District…Besides, it's quite close to my company's building…"

Tamaki grinned, Haruhi sighed again, and Kyouya was still frowning.

"Hello? Kyouya-senpai? Happy now?" Hanami was still a bit icy from Kyouya's anger at her.

"Frankly, no, but I guess we'll have to compromise. If you go to a hotel, I will supply security for you. I think I can spare Aijima, although Tachibana is the most reliable of my escorts."

"Uh…no. I will be utilizing the Four Season's security service, if you do not mind. Do you?" Hanami did not try to hide the malice from her voice.

"I do." Kyouya returned, never losing his cool. He was quite relieved to regain his composure, though. "Surely there is another place you can go." _Like my house, _he almost added, then blinked and wondered why he had thought that.

"Like Kyouya's house!" Tamaki said brightly, as Kyouya choked beside him.

------------

"Kyouya-senpai?! Are you alright?" Haruhi looked concerned as Hanami laughed at Kyouya's expense.

"Shh! Haruhi!" Tamaki hushed them all, and continued with his thought. "Hanami can live with Kyouya, so then she'll be really safe under the protection of ALL of Kyouya's bodyguards…and his private police! And…"

"And?" All three raised their eyebrows at Tamaki.

"And…Haruhi can live with me…?" He said sheepishly.

"As if." Haruhi and Hanami chimed together, as Kyouya explained "Doesn't your grandmother know what happens in Suoh Mansion #2 as well? It would be terrible for your future if Haruhi were to live there."

"Well…then can both live with you, Kyouya?" Tamaki sidled up to his dark-haired friend and shined his great, big, blue puppy eyes at Kyouya.

"Sorry, Tamaki. I've only got one spare room that isn't used for guest dignitaries. It's Fuyumi's old room. It's a rather large bed, but it's indecent for the two have to sleep together. Horrible manners on my part."

Hanami brightened up. "Then Haruhi can stay with Kyouya-senpai and I'll go to the Four Seasons by myself."

"No, you won't. Haruhi will stay with the twins, and you will stay with me. I've made the decision for all of us. No, Tamaki," Kyouya raised a hand when he saw that the Frenchman wanted to speak, and continued, "While Haruhi's safety is important, it's Hanami-san's life that is in the most jeopardy. Haruhi will be safe enough at the Hitachins', but it is my estate that can offer the best protection as of the moment."

Hanami thought it wise not to argue, with Kyouya's face set in stone, but resolved to find a way to escape somehow.

"I guess you're right." Tamaki sighed. Then: "BUT WHY DOES SHE HAVE TO LIVE WITH THE TWINS?!? THOSE TWO HORRIBLE KIDS….THE THOUGHT OF THEM ALONE WITH MY HARUHI…I'M SUCH A HORRIBLE FATHER!" And he ran out of the apartment in tears.

Having people plan her living conditions for her irked Haruhi, but she understood that safety was a priority. "Kyouya-senpai…will my father be safe?"

"Yes. Now, both of you, please pack as much as you can into whatever you have. If necessary, I'll have some suitcases delivered. Please hurry, for urgency is needed when lives are in danger. It does us no good to assume that the enemy will not discover our plans immediately."

"Now?!" Hanami was shocked.

"Yes. We must act as quickly as we can." Kyouya's voice was no-nonsense and down to business. Hanami recognized this, and although her heart was burning with anger, she listened anyway. She could save cussing Kyouya out for another time.

**Author's Note**: Merry Late Christmas, guys! Sorry. I haven't updated NCSI in a bajillion years…SO BUSY with school and all. It's tough! But I guess 1st semesters always are. Please review, even if you hate me for not updating! And please don't hate me! On top of being swamped with schoolwork, I couldn't think of a good way to finish up this chapter. It's kinda long..sorry.

Disclaimers go as usual, Bisco Hatori is the genius behind Ouran, etc, etc. I don't own anything 'cept Hanami.

**PLOT NOTICE (IMPORTANT!)**

**From here on out, there could potentially be even less of the Mori and Honey...I'm sorry to those who are their fans. I'll do my best to incorporate them in, but from now on the focus of the story will be Hanami and Kyouya…Tamaki, Haruhi, and the twins are the next runners-up. There isn't enough plot I can prepare for Mori and Honey, unless they become Hanami's second love interest or something. This is PRIMARILY a KyouyaXOC fic, but if you want me to toss in some MoriXOCXKyouya (with Kyouya being the winner, I can't change that. For a Mori/OC fic, see my author page) I have written some ideas for that. And the reason why my fic is rated T will come up soon. Originally I had planned on M for safety, then realized I can't write things like that for beans. Too scary, anyway! So please enjoy reading! **

**For a more multi-character fic, try Mistress of Deception. It's a KyouyaXHaruhiXTamaki fic. **

**Read and Review, Please!!  
**


	13. Omurice

Hanami dumped her final box in the middle of Kyouya's front hallway with such an angry force that the box ripped a little down the corner. '_Of COURSE Kyouya wouldn't life a finger to help me, even though this is HIS idea and HE is forcing me to do this. HOW HEARTLESS, THE BASTARD.' _Hanami thought vehemently, turned away from Kyouya.

"Yes, my room, please." Kyouya spoke to a maid behind Hanami's back.

'_I can't believe I had to lug ALL of that in here!' _Hanami fumed. Suddenly, she stood straight, her ears picking up something more infuriating.

"WHAT?" Hanami shouted. "YOUR ROOM? And WHY would I want to move THERE?" _And to think! I almost thought that I was developing a crush on him! YEAH FREAKING RIGHT! _ Hanami was so angry that she was almost leaking evilness. Hanami pulled a maid aside and asked if she could move her things to a guest room.

"Of course!" the maid replied. "Our guest rooms, though rarely used, are spacious and carefully maintained!" She scurried off to get the other servants to help Hanami move her things.

"Carefully maintained, huh?" Hanami shot a glare at Kyouya. "Why should I live in YOUR room if the guest rooms are carefully maintained?"

Kyouya didn't answer and turned away, his mind running furiously to find one. Finally, "the guest rooms are all on the other wing of the house. It's safer if you're closer to me."

"I doubt I'll get killed in your home if I'm not right beside you." Hanami said icily, and turned to go in the same direction of the maid.

'_But it feels like you will.' _Kyouya's mind thought all on its own. "What?" He rolled his eyes up, as if to look inside his mind. "I'm losing it." He sighed, standing alone in the hallway as servants moved around him.

* * *

The next morning found Kyouya, Hanami, and Kyouya's personal bodyguards all alone in the house, as all servants had received the morning and afternoon off (their first holiday in 10 years, Hanami suspected grimly).

Kyouya, as usual, woke up in his room grumpily, and wondered why Tachibana hadn't come down to escort him to the dining room. Kyouya found the weather warm and took off the top half of his pajamas and searched for his house slippers blearily. He followed to sound of voices to his kitchen, where Hanami stood behind the cooking island with a spatula in hand. His three bodyguards sat on the other end, talking eagerly with Hanami.

"Morning, sleepyhead." Hanami said sarcastically, brandishing her spatula. "Tamaki told me about your morning habits. You blow up at me and you're not getting any omurice."

"Wha-." He was still too tired/grumpy/low-blood-pressured to speak properly, but the warm scent of omurice as slowly waking him up. "Wait…Why are you cooking…? That's the cook's job…" he yawned. "A person as high up as you shouldn't be cooking…" And Kyouya grabbed a chair between Hotta and Tachibana and dropped his head on his plate.

"Master Kyouya!" His bodyguards leapt to action, trying to ease their master to a sitting position.

Grinning, Hanami lifted a piping-hot omelet from the pan she was cooking in and let it hover dangerously over Kyouya's head.

His bodyguards froze and stared nervously at the trembling omelet, then nervously down at Kyouya.

"Don't even think about it." He said, and lifted his head off the plate, where Hanami put the omelet.

"You spoil all of my fun. Although I do like the huge TV in Fuyumi-san's room. The circular bed is pretty cool, too. It's a nice place you've got here." Hanami said, passing a fork to Kyouya (as chopsticks were not ideal for eating omurice.) As Kyouya grasped the fork, his fingers lightly grazed Hanami's, whether his hand did it on purpose or not, he didn't know. Their eyes met and Hanami saw a spark in Kyouya's eyes…And quickly released the spoon.

"Uh… I'm gonna go change now." Hanami made a quick exit.

All three of Kyouya's bodyguards stood stiffly behind him, while exchanging secret, encouraging glances. Was it true? Was their young master really falling…

"If you think I'm in love with her, you're mistaken."

The three swallowed and diverted their eyes as Kyouya stabbed the omelet with his fork and ate with angry conviction.

* * *

A dead-silent car ride spoiled Kyouya's mood for the rest of the school day, much to the concern of the other hosts (except Hanami, who was enjoying his anger). In fact, Hanami was more lively than usual and played up the charm while Kyouya sulked behind his desk, calculating the club's expenses.

"Hey, Haruhi, how's life with Tamaki-senpai? He's not bothering you too much, is he?" Hanami asked her cousin, who glared back.

Tamaki leaned in the two girl's direction to try to hear Haruhi better.

"I feel violated," was all Haruhi said. "He's annoying."

Tamaki collapsed. And, for the first time ever, Kyouya didn't try to jolt him out of it.

"Daichi-kun, is Kyouya-senpai all right?" a concerned customer asked Hanami. Hanami glanced over at Kyouya and was actually surprised to see him in such a dark state, even though she had seen it before. She wondered what caused Kyouya's angst.

"I suppose so. He was somewhat alright this morning, at breakfast."

Several alert ears, including Renge, suddenly swarmed to Hanami.

"Daichi-kun… What do you mean by breakfast? How is it that you eat breakfast with Kyouya-sama?" some avid Kyouya fans squealed.

"Uh…" Hanami saw no way out of it, so she told the truth. "I live with him?" THEN she lied, to cover up her reason why. "Kyouya-senpai extended his home to me because my apartment building wasn't in a good area, and I can't build a mansion close enough to the school in time for me to move in."

The extremist Kyouya fans fainted with jealousy. The "forbidden love" fans fainted with fantasies. Only Renge, who had the stomach for such things, let out a blood-curdling scream. "COULD THIS BE? ANOTHER FORBIDDEN LOVE IN THE HOST CLUB? WHAT GOES ON BEHIND CLOSED DOORS AT THE OOTORI HOME? MOE! IT CAN ONLY BE MOE!"

Hanami's mind instantly saw future Ouran fanmagazines with pictures of Kyouya and "Daichi" closely together, doing various forbidden things…Things that surpassed friendship. '_If only "Daichi" was "Hanami.."' _She thought gloomily, then wondered why she thought that.

"Renge…" Kyouya's smooth voice sounded mildly amused. "Try not to spread too many false rumors." He said with a small smile. Even though he appeared slightly irritated, Kyouya was secretly pleased that Hanami had admitted their life together. Even if it was because she accidentally let it slip.

"Kyouya-kun?" a female voice passed through the front door of the music room. It was Yuzuru Suoh's secretary, as well as the school's secretary. "Suoh-san would like to see you."

"Eh?" Tamaki was always surprised when his father called Kyouya. In the end, Kyouya DID jolt him out of unconsciousness after all.

"Alright. I'm coming." Kyouya grabbed his folder and left.

There were a few, horrid seconds of silence in the music room, because it was rare that the superintendent called a host member in (apart from the monthly financial meeting that Kyouya attended.)

"Hmm. Must be nothing serious. Come on, ladies, let's not get hung up on Kyouya-senpai!" Hanami tried to divert their attention, to great success (as she began to get cross-examined on her life with Kyouya.

* * *

Suoh's secretary opened the door and ushered Kyouya into the superintendent's room, following right behind him. Kyouya saw that the superintendent looked rather unnerved, and was immediately suspicious. Then, one of the huge business chairs swiveled around to face Kyouya.

A middle-aged white man with a sly, haughty disposition gazed up at Kyouya bemusedly, a wicked smile slowly appearing on his face.

"Hello, Kyouya Ootori. I believe we haven't met; I am Richard Price of Pineapple Computations. Won't you have a seat?"

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A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Please review, and I'll be back soon with more! Disclaimers as usual.


	14. Development

_A/N: EDIT: I mistakenly said in the last chapter that Richard Price is a middle-aged man. He's not, actually, I said earlier on that he's an extremely ambitious 24-25 year-old who will stop at nothing to take over the company and become its CEO. And I think I'll just have Haruhi be at Tamaki's place after all. I'm sorry! A lot of time lapses between each chapter ;_: Anyway, please enjoy, disclaimers as usual! _

"…_Won't you have a seat?"_

Kyouya smiled politely, restraining the urge to beat up the smirking man seated before him.

"No, thanks. I don't intend to stay very long as I have other things to attend to." _Like Hanami's safety, _he thought.

"Pity." Richard faked a sigh. He scrutinized the teenage boy before him. The bespectacled boy seemed tense, as if he already knew that Price had been watching his movements for quite some time. _Or perhaps he has some feelings for dear Hana?_ He cleared his throat, then smiled. "At any rate, I'm sure you're aware that Hanami has had two marriage proposals? One from me, which her mother consented to, and one from her childhood friend and my nephew, Jared."

Kyouya said nothing, but raised an eyebrow. He unconsciously tightened his grasp on his black notebook.

Price noticed, but didn't say anything. "Even though her mother had consented to my marriage with her, it was clear that she had failed to notify Hanami herself! A very strange coincidence indeed, when my nephew professed his love for her the very day I made the arrangements—the very day she left for Japan. Seeing as Jared's parents were in a grave car accident a week ago, I was instated as his formal guardian. Now, to marry the love of his life would be cruel of me, so instead I decided Jared would be a better match. Of course Hana would be able to learn to love an old friend… But a man several years her senior? Perhaps not."

Kyouya locked his jaw, then unhinged it to ask, "why are you telling me all of this? Hanami's private matters do not concern me."

Price laughed. "Oh, but they do, dear third son of the Ootori Group." He swiveled his chair around, so not to face Kyouya… Although it was extremely tempting to watch the look on the boy's face as he continued speaking. "I am under the impression that Hanami now resides with you, under the charity of the Ootori Group. Is this correct?"

"Yes," came the terse reply.

"Well then. We can't have scandals arising, can we now? By the end of the week I ask that you displace Hanami and have her live in the Four Seasons business suite, such that she will be close enough to the company building where I will have Jared working as a department head. Jared may see to her well-being, and you avoid any false rumors arising about your company by having her be protected by her fiancé." Richard turned back around, taking delight in Kyouya's shocked, but restrained facial expression.

"I'm afraid I cannot do that. The Ootori Group seeks to aid any business partners it might have to the fullest; and seeing Hanami as an important asset, her protection is a primary concern as of the moment. I'm afraid that the security at the Four Seasons is a bit lax, and we cannot stand to endanger a potential partner." Kyouya moved his lips as little as possible, not wanting to waste any of his breath on this foul man.

"Aha! The truth comes out!" Richard chuckled, then instantly assumed a flat, not amused face. He got up out of his chair and faced Kyouya a few inches away. "What exactly do you mean by… 'partner?' Ootori-san, I do derive the feeling that you harbor affection for my dear Hanami."

Kyouya said nothing, but met Richard's gaze evenly. His eyes flickered once, and Richard took this as panic.

Price smiled. That flicker told him everything. Kyouya was not the type to be scared of Richard himself… But he was indeed scared for Hanami. And that sort of affection would lead him to take personal interest in everything that happened to Hanami.. An interest that was so intense that Kyouya would slip up somewhere along the way.

"Have her in the Four Seasons by next month, them. I'll give you an extension." With that, Richard brushed past Kyouya and out of the room.

Kyouya stared at the space that Richard had vacated, his mind racing with different strategies to overcome this hurdle. Price had been right; if he wanted to inherit the compansomewhere along the way.

"Have her in the Four Seasons by next month, them. I'll give you an extension." With that, Richard brushed past Kyouya and out of the room.

Kyouya stared at the space that Richard had vacated, his mind racing with different strategies to overcome this hurdle. Price had been right; if he wanted to inherit the company over his brothers, Kyouya would have to avoid scandal at all costs.

But then it came to him, just as Superintendent Suou reached out carefully towards him.

A smile grew on Kyouya's face. "It seems I always have the upper hand."

"Ootori-kun?" Superintendent Suou looked at his son's best friend worriedly.

"Ah, yes, Suou-sama?" Kyouya looked up earnestly, his face at peace at last.

"Um… I'm only vaguely aware of Hanami or Daichi's situation.. Even as the host club, your powers will only go so far to protect her. Please do your best—This Richard fellow doesn't appear to be quite so accustomed to the idea of traditional business tactics and a rich lineage. He's used to the American rags-to-riches style, and is only successful due to his aggressive nature. Help me protect my students, Ootori-kun."

"Of course, Suou-sama. And I will be taking my leave now, if that's alright."

The superintended nodded, and Kyouya whisked himself out the door, flipping open his cell phone as he checked the time on his watch.

"Yes, is this BusinessWeek? Yes, I'd like to make a statement regarding Pineapple Computation's heiress. Yes. I'll fax it in. Thank you!"

Kyouya reentered the host room, where the others were closing up shop.

"Ah, Kyouya-senpai!" Hanami was the first to greet him, walking up to him and pressing a list into his hands. "These are all the girls who were requested you today. Looks like you're going to have to make it up to them! I tried doing my best impression of you but it didn't work."

At first, Kyouya had been slightly pleased that she sought him out, but that feeling quickly turned into annoyance. He snapped the list away from her and walked away, muttering "she's like another Tamaki…" under his breath.

"HEY! I HEARD THAT!"

"Hey, Senpai, what's up? What happened down there?" the twins asked, coming closer to Kyouya. He glanced up at them, then at the other hosts who had begun to gather around him.

"Haruhi, Hanami, you two can head home. My car and Tamaki's car are out front already."

A bit worried, they followed his orders.

"What's going on, Kyouya…?" Tamaki was serious for once in his life.

"Tamaki, your father didn't call me in for himself. He called me in because Richard Price was there."

There was a collective gasp as Kyouya tensely tapped his notebook with his pen.

"He wants Hanami to move to the Four Seasons, so that she and Jared will learn to love each other."

The twins looked at each other nervously. To them (and the rest of the hosts, save for Hanami,) it was clear that Kyouya had taken a strong liking to Hanami, whether he liked it or not.

"So what do we do, Kyo-chan?" Hunny asked.

"Richard threatened me with a scandal over the Ootori Group and the Suou Group's heads… But I have an idea." Kyouya took a breath before explaining his plan. "I've already placed a call to BusinessWeek Japan; I'll be making a statement about a partnership between the Ootori Group and Pineapple Computations, about how we'll be working together to create state-of-the-art medical technology."

Tamaki glanced at the twins. The double meaning behind "partnership" wasn't lost on them….

Kyouya continued. "I already know my father has been looking for me to make a move like this,"

_Or make a move on Hanami, _Hikaru thought.  
_Seems like old Ootori-san knows what's going on between his son and Hanami. _Kaoru speculated.

"…so I'll also be revealing her living areas to BusinessWeek. I'll say it's just a matter of understanding the individuals behind the companies, as well as a cultural exposition for Hanami, considering this is her first time making a permanent residence in Japan. It'll be nothing more than friendly relations to the press, and any rumors of scandal will be nullified. My father will also make an appearance, and will verify what I'm saying."

_That's because Kyo-chan's papa probably wants him to marry Hanami and merge the companies! _Honey thought.

_It's father-approved. _Mori figured.

"But…" Kyouya began, looking at Tamaki.

"Um. Yes," Tamaki started. "There's the issue of the host club girls. No doubt they'll be reading this, and Hanami's secret will be found out."

Everyone gasped.

"But then, her cover as Daichi will become pivotal. I'm releasing this as well. 'Daichi Fujioka, a distant cousin and future businessman of PineComp, will also be residing with the Ootori family in the hopes of creating a lasting bond between the two companies.' I'm thinking we can release on of Hanami's host pictures."

"Well, then, that's great! There are no problems!" Tamaki cheered.

"Wait, Tamaki." Kyouya stopped him. "There is one more issue… We have to get Hanami to appear at the interview and press conference. In a dress. And looking poised and businesslike."

The twins shrugged. They could provide the dress from their mother's working woman fashion line.

It dawned on Tamaki that Hanami had less experience being girly and feminine than Haruhi; at least in middle school, Haruhi had been wearing skirts and had long hair. Hanami, on the other hand, appeared to have been a self-proclaimed tomboy for most of her life.

He looked at Kyouya, who nodded.

"That could be a problem."

Kyouya nodded again.

"Well, then, you have to break it to her, because you live with her, and you have to teach her as well, because you live with her!"

Kyouya's face paled. "I can't do that, Tamaki. You're better suited for teaching her how to function as a female member of high society."

Tamaki considered this.

"That's true. But I've got my hands full with Haruhi, so I can't come. Surely you can teach her how to ballroom dance for the social events she'll have to go to as a guest of the Ootori group! And how to do all sorts of things."

"No, Tamaki. NO."

Off to the side, the twins giggled. It looked like things wouldn't be so boring after all.


	15. Danger

Hanami dropped the papers at on Kyouya's coffee table with a loud SPLAT and glared at the bespectacled boy before her.

Kyouya didn't respond.

"Really?" She raised an eyebrow. "You went to the press with this?"

Kyouya shrugged. It had been his only option in keeping her out of Richard's grasp.

Exasperated with his lack of concern, Hanami sighed. "Kyouya. This means scandal galore. Having 'Daichi' here does nothing… You KNOW the papers will be speculating ridiculous things like a marriage between us or perhaps even my illegitimate pregnancy with your child!" She picked up the magazine and hit herself in the forehead with it.

Kyouya smirked, then simply leaned over the table to take the magazine from her. "Let them talk. It's good business talk for both of our companies."

Hanami snatched the BusinessWeek copy back, swatting Kyouya's hand away. "No! I'm not your little corporate whore and you're not my corporate manslave! Why did you go and release that to the press, you… you… you idiot?" She stormed out of his room, but not before tearing the magazine to shreds and leaving it in a lovely pile on his carpet.

Kyouya sighed. This wasn't exactly the emotion he had hoped to elicit from her. Maybe… gratitude? Admiration? Respect? He laughed bitterly to himself and pushed up the bridge of his glasses. He was doing this to _protect_ her and this is how she paid him back? Really, now.

How… uncouth.

* * *

Meanwhile, another copy of the BusinessWeek magazine was slapped on a table. A desk, to be exact. Richard Price's desk.

"Dammit!" He cursed, taking a gold-plated letter opener and stabbing the picture of Kyouya Ootori on the cover. The boy's face was mauled, and Richard Price smiled. 'If only…' he thought. 'If only it were so in real life.'

Then, with a grand sweep of his arm, the magazine with the front page headline of "Merger Mania: Ootori Group and Pineapple Computation heirs under the same roof!" feel into the wastebasket.

* * *

Jared turned off the TV and glanced over at the magazine his uncle had sent him. A horrible feeling filled his stomach. Was it hurt? Jealousy? Anger? Angst? He didn't know, but it was sickening. Leaning over to reach for the wastebasket, Jared emptied his stomach and wiped his mouth, spasms running through his body.

Feeling miserable, he then pulled over the fancy Four Season blanket over him as he curled into fetal position on the couch. "Hanami…" he said to nobody in a small voice. "Why?"

* * *

_Two days later_

"HANAMI!" the twins pounced as Hanami cowered in fear. "GET OVER HERE!"

"Aaack." The rest of the host club heard the helpless reply and a loud "OOOOMPH" sound as the twins tackled her to the ground and shoved a dress into her arms.

Sighing, Hanami sat up and held the dress at arm's length. It was a good, businesslike dress… But it still had a pencil skirt. Hanami hated those. She couldn't run in them.

"Hanami…" Hikaru held a warning tone in his voice. "You've got less than 20 seconds to put that on before Kaoru comes after you with makeup."

Hanami gulped. "Wh-what's the rush? It's no big deal, I don't need all that…"

Kaoru glanced over at her sharply. "Twenty… Nineteen… Eighteen…"

"I'LL DO IT, OKAY?" Hanami scurried into Kyouya's first-floor bathroom, all the while yelling at the twins. "But seriously! Slow down!"

Her screaming was cut off as Kyouya's voice cut through the bathroom door. "Keep in mind that the press conference is less than an hour away. And Hikaru, Kaoru, kindly refrain from getting makeup on my _white _carpet."

Tamaki sat in the corner, useless, and forced to leave the chaos of the room. Haruhi felt that she should go comfort him… But alas. She was dragged into the bathroom to ensure that Hanami was changing.

* * *

Cameras flashed. Reporters clamored. And Kyouya looked… amazing.

Wait, what?

Hanami was thoroughly confused by her line of thoughts. Where the hell did Kyouya come in to all of this? She, however, was given very little time to be confused as a sharp, but imperceptible to the press, jab met her side. Her focus reinstated, she glared up at the tall black-haired boy next to her.

"Pay attention. And smile, for goodness' sake!" Kyouya whispered, his fake smile never leaving his face.

Kyouya then briefly left Hanami's side to give his statement on the matter, before it was Hanami's turn.

Hanami stepped up to the podium, then called upon her speaking skills to deliver her own statement.

"As of the past few weeks, I and my cousin Daichi, who unfortunately was unable to attend today, have been making residence at the Ootori Group's main house. We are extremely grateful to the family for providing such wonderful facilities in which we are nurtured and looked after. Our reason for residing there is not only to gain a better understanding of the Japanese corporate climate, but also of the cultural and educational climate. We are also looking to sign contracts with the Ootori Group soon, seeing great talent and determination within the company. Furthermore, we decided to leave our Japanese apartment for the better security of a large house, as we had received several threats upon arrival. We would like to thank the Ootori Group for their kindness and generosity, as well as the press for not jumping to conclusions as to why I chose to move there.

"There is no scandal between Kyouya Ootori and I. We are living in separate areas of the house, and have no special relationship between us apart from a platonic friendship and an academic camaraderie. That is all."

As she stepped back from the podium, the reporters all went into an uproar and tried pressing closer.

Kyouya had to admit he was impressed by her speaking skills. As the two students left the stage together, he saw something off to the side that concerned him. He quickened his pace and placed a firm hand at the small of her back as he led her down a corridor. He pulled out his phone and speed-dialed Tachibana. "Tachibana. Bring the car out to the west side right now."

"Kyouya? Is everything okay?" Hanami's voice was strained, high…Worried.

He hoped everything was okay. He **hoped.**

A throat cleared, stopping Hanami and him in their tracks.

"Well, Hanami? Where do you think you're going without telling me about…this turn in events?" Richard's cold voice cut across the hallway, and Hanami saw that a dark-eyed Jared stood behind him.

"Jared?" she asked in a small voice. The darkness in his eyes was radically different from the warmth she knew. Granted, she hadn't treated him nicely for the past few weeks… But he knew they were still friends, right? Right?

He didn't respond, just clenched his fists, and Kyouya noticed. Richard watched Kyouya's face carefully. He looked for a reaction. A kind of… flinch. Fear in his eyes, perhaps..

But Kyouya had learned to be careful after their last encounter. And he knew that Richard would be an intellectual equal. He smiled briefly, and excused himself and Hanami politely. Richard's eyes followed them to their car, and a smirk grew on his lips.

"Tachibana. Drive home." Kyouya ordered, but nothing happened. The car didn't move forward. "Tachibana?"

Hanami peered out of the tinted window for a sign of Richard and Jared, but they seemed to have disappeared. But as she noticed that their driver wasn't responding, she watched Kyouya in fear.

"_Tachibana?_" Kyouya leaned forward, to check on his driver and primary bodyguard. He grabbed Tachibana's shoulder and was surprised to find it out. He pulled, and Tachibana fell slack against the driving wheel. As Kyouya lifted his hand, he noticed that his fingers were wet and dark red. It was blood.

Hanami screamed, and Kyouya's senses instantly became sharper. He tersely told Hanami to quiet down and lock the doors, and out of her fear, she obeyed. Squinting over the top of his glasses, he surveyed the area around the car before pulling Tachibana over to the passenger seat and sitting in the bloodied driver's seat himself. He started the car and punched an address into the GPS, and looked back in the rearview mirror at a terrified Hanami. With his clean hand, he turned and reached out to her.

Hanami stared at his hand, then at the bloody driving wheel. She was a master in the martial arts, but was extremely unprepared for armed combat. To see an innocent life at the hands of a gun shook her to the core, and she couldn't fathom how Kyouya was calm. But his intense gaze held her in their purple glow, and she gave her a trembling hand.

"Hanami, _**you need to trust me."**_

She nodded, and Kyouya whisked around and drove.


	16. Fear

**A/N: Well! This story has changed a lot! I think the character of Richard Price has changed the most… Forget what I said in Chapter 14. This is final: Richard is a middle aged-man. I'll go back to rewrite the early chapters as they don't fit the tone of this action drama. The story became much darker than I thought… Hmmm. It'll be very exciting and intricate, though, so please continue reading! **

**I know there's no more fluff, but I don't think I can write that into this story anymore. Haha~~ it's a bit hard to write in a drama. We're exploring the past and the cruelty of high society, huh?**

**Please enjoy, but keep in mind this chapter is not for the weakhearted.**

"Haruuuuuuhi~" Tamaki pouted. "Come ON. Just open your mouth and eat it!" He waved the ootoro in front of her face, and she wrinkled her nose.

"No, Tamaki-senpai, you've been feeding me that every single day and I'm beginning to get sick of it."

"But-but-you've got to eat as much as you can now before you move back—" his whimpers were cut off by the doorbell ringing. He perked up like a dog, wondering who his visitor could be. But as he began to get up, the ringing became more and more urgent, as if the person was pressing his button madly. He ran out into the second floor indoor balcony as the maid unlocked the door.

The poor maid was thrown to the side as Kyouya stumbled in, his suit bloodied, his face grim and alert, and his driver Tachibana slung over his shoulder.

"OKA-SAN!" Tamaki yelled, leaping down the stairs with Haruhi hot on his heels.

The two boys eased Tachibana onto the cold marble floor, taking care not to slip in the blood. "Tamaki, now is not the time for silly nicknames. He's still breathing, we need to get him taken care of." Kyouya reached down for Tachibana's wrist as he looked at his watch to measure his pulse. "And tell them to close their mouths and close the doors."

Tamaki gestured to his shocked servants and they quickly locked the huge doors.

Haruhi supported Tachibana's shoulder as maids rushed around with medical equipment and towels. She stopped suddenly at the dreadful sound of keening. Sharply, her head turned, and she saw Hanami sitting on the floor in a state of shock.

"How.." Hanami whispered, her eyes unfocused. "How…?"

Haruhi was helpless to comfort her. She moved to come closer and hug her cousin, but at the sight of blood, Hanami shied away.

Kyouya glanced up quickly, but returned to sedating Tachibana and extracting the bullet. Tamaki helped in any way he could, ready with a cloth to wipe up any liquid.

"I didn't know you could do this, Kyouya," he said softly.

Kyouya didn't look up as he bitterly laughed. "Tamaki, I'm trying to inherit a primarily medical company. I spent my middle school years studying the hospital; I was bound to learn something." He deftly took thread and a needle from a nearby maid, closing the wound, after cleaning it out. He stood up when he was done, greeted by a room full of silence.

"Get him to a bed. Hook him up to an IV and make sure he takes supplements and fluids when he wakes up. Under no circumstances is he allowed to leave the bed until I come and give the all clear."

Servants nodded and gently placed Tachibana on a large serving cart, and took him to a guest room downstairs.

Kyouya sighed and closed his eyes for a brief moment before looking over at the lifeless Hanami. He took a step towards her, but realized that in her trauma she would be frightened by the blood on his hands. He quickly went to Tamaki's room to clean up and change clothes, and then approached her.

Haruhi looked up blankly as Kyouya approached in frivolous, glamorous, Tamaki-only clothing. In normal circumstances, she would have been laughing… Hell, she almost laughed out of the stress and shock.

Kyouya knelt in front of Hanami.

"Hanami-san." He spoke softly.

She didn't respond.

"Hanami-san." He understood the stress. He had seen many psychologically damaged patients at the hospital.

She buried her head into her knees.

He was at a lost for words; the girl who had, mere hours ago, impressed him with her professionalism and strength was curled into a tiny ball. He then remembered that despite her talent, she was still a baby in the world of dirty business. She hadn't known the world of corruption, greed, and murder like he had.

"_You know, Ootori, if you hadn't defamed us in public, your wife wouldn't be lying at me feet with a bullet in her leg and blood in her throat."_

_Yoshio Ootori stood at the door of his bedroom, jaw locked and pain in his eyes as he saw his rival sitting on the bed, and his wife on the floor in a pool of her own blood. She moved a little when she saw him, striking pain into her bones and eyes. She tried speaking, to tell him to leave, but a painful gargling sound came out instead._

"_Otou-san?" A small boy's voice came down the hallway, and Yoshio barked without looking into the hallway._

"_STAY BACK, KYOUYA."_

_He didn't, and Yoshio felt little hands on his leg. Kyouya stood partially behind his father as Yoshio painfully closed his eyes in agony. _

"_Otou-san? What happened to Oka-san? Oka-san! OKA-SAN!" He tried to run to his mother as she stared at him with sad, panicked eyes, but Yoshio held him back._

_The man on the bed laughed humorlessly. "You know, I'm fully aware that I can't touch your company at all. But I can still hit you where it hurts." He prepared his gun, aimed, and shot the lady of the Ootori family square in the chest. Her body twitched at impact, then went limp. _

_Yoshio dropped to his knees and pulled his squirming son close. _

"_OKA-SAN!"_

_The man then reset the gun as he held it to his own head._

"_You're welcome, Ootori."_

_And then he fired._

Kyouya knew. He knew what trauma did to a family. He certainly knew what it had done to him. He had never cried since then, but now, his heart was raw. It was open. He had trained himself not to cry, but for some reason, he felt a very strong emotion. He didn't know why that horrendous memory came back. But it did.

And therefore, he knew.

He tried again. Softer, gentler, and with understanding.

"Hanami-_chan."_ His voice was urgent, caring, and desperate. It was something he hadn't heard leave his lips since his mother's murder.

Tamaki and Haruhi were shocked. This was monumental. And definitely had something to do with the events of today, as well as a dark past that threatened to surface.

This time, though, Hanami gave a response.

"Why?" It came out as a mewl, only audible to Kyouya. And then tears began to slide silently down her face.

Kyouya tilted her chin up and searched her pleading eyes. He didn't find the answer he was looking for. Frustrated, he dropped her back to her position and briskly stalked out of the room.

Once out of earshot, Kyouya propped his forearm on a wall and hit it with his other first. "FUCK."

**A/N #2: Not much happens in this chapter main-timeline-wise, but it has some important insight into the future of the story. Disclaimers as usual!**


	17. Reflection

**A/N: Get ready for the longest chapter of this series! (I think.) I've completed the edited version of Chapter 1, but I won't replace the first 10 chapters until after I have most of them done. It's so that new readers can have a seamless plot. **

**PLEASE READ AND REVIEW-I love reviews. The more, the better, and the more I write!**

It took some time for Hanami to come out from under her blanket of shock. She'd seen blood before, but to see a cold-blooded attempt to take someone else's life was utterly shocking. And to think that it was because of her-!

She shuddered and pulled a blanket around herself as Tamaki and Haruhi stared at her sadly. Kyouya was nowhere to be seen, presumably making calls and working out a new plan.

And so, four cups of coffee, two bottles of Gatorade, and a piping hot cup of green tea after the press conference, Hanami felt as normal as she could under the circumstances.

While Tamaki and Haruhi were relieved to see the feisty, logical Hanami back, they were worried that she was suppressing her trauma, only to unleash it later on. But when Hanami refused to submit to their concerns, they helplessly dropped the subject and moved on to discuss Richard's moves and his intentions.

"It seems planned." Hanami spoke her first full sentence of the evening apart from "thank you" and "please."

Tamaki looked at her wearily from across the coffee table. "Yes, it does seem so." Haruhi shivered, shocked by the malice that they were accusing Richard of. Glancing over at the petite girl next to him, Tamaki wrapped his arms around her body and pressed a kiss into her forehead. She needed it; while normally she would have screamed and pinched him away, there was nothing normal about this situation.

"But **why**?" Hanami's voice fell soft and Haruhi sharply looked up, thinking she had slid back under shock. Hanami gave her a look and snapped "I'm fine," although her clip tone told the other two that she was anything but. "What does he want from me?"

Haruhi scoffed. "Obviously, the company."

"No," said Hanami. "If he wanted that, he would have made me his puppet. But for some reason, my dad knew something bad was happening. He wrote me a letter when I took over the company. It was as if he knew something about Richard. This isn't only about me surpassing him. It's something with the past."

"Something dark, something ominous. And _something_ having to do with my family as well." Kyouya's cold voice entered the room before he did. Shutting his phone, he ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes before sitting down next to Hanami… He sat in such close proximity to her that their thighs were touching, and an electrified Hanami noticed. "We're going to need to do a bit of research."

Tamaki's eyes never left the tired face of his best friend. "So what have you figured out so far?"

"More than I thought I would."

Hanami raised an angry eyebrow at him. "And what does that mean?"

"Hanami, do not take that tone of voice with me. I'm one of few allies you have in this country, and your stress won't help our cause at all."

Hanami fell silent, still a little tortured by how close she and Kyouya were, but she knew he was right.

Kyouya sighed.

Then began.

"I called my father using by using my unlisted emergency cell phone and explained what had happened. When I mention Richard's name, I heard my father drop his pen and begin opening his drawers. He seemed to recognize it. Suddenly, he went into a sort of strained voice and interrogated me on all of our safety… **Especially Hanami's. **Something is off. Richard appears to have ties to my family, and my father knows he's a threat. You know my family; always calm and composed. Well, my father dropping something and acting worried… It's a foreign concept. I haven't seen him that way since…"

Kyouya's voice trailed off, and the other three pairs of eyes looked at him strangely.

"Since..?" Hanami's voice was soft, caring.

"_Since my mother was killed."_ Kyouya's voice was barely above a whisper.

The room was silent, with the kind so palpable you could reach out and touch it.

"Kyouya…" Hanami's voice dropped lower, and closer to his ear. "I'm… I'm sorry." She opened her arms and wrapped the older boy in them. "I'm sorry."

He felt his arms around her, and was surprised to find that he wasn't prying them off of him in disgust. Tears did not come, but he felt oddly broken in her hold. Broken… But that the arms would heal him.

* * *

"Excuse me?" A maid popped her head into the silence of the room.

Clearing his thoughts, Kyouya straightened and felt the warmth of Hanami's embrace leave him. Tamaki received the picture the maid was holding. "Kyouya… What is this?" he asked.

Taking the card from him across the table, Kyouya stared at the burning pile of rubble. "Ah, this."

Hanami peered over his shoulder. "What is that?"

"I asked the maids to print this out. It's an image from a few days ago."

Silence.

A questioning silence.

"It's your apartment building."

Haruhi choked and assumed a look of total horror while Hanami froze up next to Kyouya. She stared at the little glossy picture. Only a few weeks prior, she had been in that building. How was it destroyed? How had it been obliterated? What about the other tenants?

Kyouya answered all of her mental questions. "It was a dirty bomb; when I first found out I sent a team from my private police to investigate. The press passed it off as a faulty gas line, but I knew there was foul play. It was during the day and very few people were home. Some tenants were killed, but they're estimated to be only 5 or so people.

"It looks like Richard's doing. He **knew** you were gone from the building—_this is just to send a message_."

"How?" Hanami choked on her words. "How can this be about me? _How can I bring these events about?"_

Kyouya turned to meet her gaze. "It's not just about you, as I expected. We're going to have to get to the bottom of this. I think this has been brewing for the past few decades; your inheritance of PC was just the catalyst."

"Now, I will ask you once more. _Do you trust me?"_

As Tamaki and Haruhi watched Kyouya's even purple gaze, Hanami nodded. "I do."

* * *

As school continued and host club activities resumed, all 8 of the hosts attempted to maintain a degree of normalcy. Nobody spoke about the events of the past few days during host activities or class hours. If any student who had seen the press conference asked where Hanami was, they all gave their rehearsed excuse: that Hanami had chosen to be tutored at home for her safety. Girls continued swooning over the beauty of their boys, but noticed when Kyouya became less sociable than usual. He hadn't produced a lengthy photobook for days; if anything, the recent publications had been rather expensive pamphlets to keep the girls happy.

Daichi, of all the hosts, seemed the most concerning; he ate little, and always claimed that he was just 'overworked' and had been 'studying' late into the night. Renge didn't believe it, but was wise enough to keep this to herself as Daichi seemed on edge. Daichi was sharper than ever, taking on Kyouya's barbs and shooting them at various customers. Girls assumed it was just sarcasm, until one fateful day, when one of Tamaki's followers accidentally dropped a teacup.

Through 'Daichi's' eyes, Hanami watched, horrified, as the cup seemed to fall in slow-motion from the girl's hand. She felt powerless to stop it, as she was 10 yards away, and watched helplessly as the cup's brim hit the floor.

The shattering noise pierced the room, and 'Daichi' jumped up in a panic.

Kyouya glanced sharply up at Hanami. He knew that if he waited a moment longer, she would blow her cover and disguise as Daichi.

Hanami panted. She was beginning to hyperventilate. She bored her eyes into the broken cup on the floor, seeing it instead as the rubble of an apartment. The bullet wound of a driver. A scar of the past. She knew. She knew. She knew this wasn't about her. There was something about Richard that wasn't normal.

"Daichi?" A calm, cool voice cut through her panic attack and brought her back to reality. "Is everything alright?" The voice was warning, and Hanami lifted her eyes to the glittering purple orbs that owned the voice. She saw the understanding but strict control in Kyouya's eyes, and gulped, hard.

"I…I…"

The guests of the host club watched in horror but excitement, worried yet thrilled by the events that were unfolding.

Honey, big eyes filled with sadness and pity, spoke up. "Dai-_kun_, I think you should take a rest. You haven't had much sleep… Don't overwork yourself, okay?"

Mori gently took Hanami by the arm, and the two seniors left with her to take her to their peaceful homes. She needed to recollect herself.

Kyouya let out a barely audible sigh and sat back down in his seat. He turned back to his guests and made a light joke about Daichi's stress levels, and soon the Third Music Room was alive with laughter. But worry hung over the head of each remaining host, while they did their best to distract from it.

* * *

As soon as club activities ended, Kyouya grabbed his Louis Vuitton overcoat and made a brisk beeline towards the door.

His voice weighed by weariness and concern, Tamaki stopped him. "Kyouya… Where are you going in such a hurry?"

"I'm going to get to the bottom of this," he replied tersely. Tamaki nodded, and Kyouya tore out of his grasp.

Tamaki turned around to face the twins, who were embracing each other in comfort, and Haruhi, who clasped her hands in nervousness.  
"We've got to believe in him. I think he may do something drastic and unbelievable… But believe in him."

* * *

There were three destinations Kyouya was bent on going to. He first went to Tamaki's house to pick up a now-conscious Tachibana and drop him off at his own house. Then, with a death grip on the steering wheel, he drove his way to the main Ootori office.

* * *

"Ootori-san? Please don't go into the office, your father's not really well at the moment—" a secretary shrieked as Kyouya pressed through the halls.

* * *

"Answers, Father. Now."

Kyouya closed the door behind him and met his father's gaze. He took a step back, however, when he saw the resignation in the older Ootori's eyes.

"Sit, Kyouya."

He didn't, but Yoshio Ootori began to speak regardless.

"_Stephen, Yuzuru, Richard, and I all attend Ouran in the mid-seventies. Yuzuru and I had a relationship not unlike yours and Tamaki's, although I was a considerably happier person than you are today. Stephen and Richard had come from Exeter Academy as exchange students during our junior year. We formed a club of sorts; I suppose you can compare it to that Hana Yori Dango drama that your sister watches. We were the kinds of the school, and nothing could touch us. _

"_One day, we were out driving in a fabulous new car. Richard was at the wheel, as, being the poorest out of all of us, we let him have the chance. He was a little too excited and slightly drunk—"_

Kyouya made a noise.

"I do not think that our actions were wise. We were boys, and had not been trained from such a young age to avoid scandal. We were given more freedom than you and your friends.

"—_and accidentally ran over a teenage boy from a neighboring high school. Shocked, we dragged the body off to the side and cleaned off the car with our handkerchiefs. When it came on the news, it was marked as a hit and run. However… We had been careless. One of our handkerchiefs was left on the ground… It was Richard's. Nobody had noticed it was missing as we had thrown the bloodied cloths into the trunk. But when we arrived back at my house—this very house, and attempted to put them into the laundry, we discovered the loss. Horrified, I quickly asked one of my maids to embroider Richard's initials into one of my own handkerchiefs. He took that one, and we resumed normal activities._

"_As it turns out, the boy wasn't dead. He was alive, in fact, after suffering contusions and several broken bones. He had somehow gotten hold of the handkerchief, and when he was able to use crutches instead of a wheelchair, he came to Ouran's doors and looked for Richard. He knew who the cloth belonged to._

"_The whole thing exploded. It went to press, and Richard was convicted of attempted manslaughter. He looked to our families for either help or share in the blame, but our parents had shielded us through bribery and suppression. Stephen said we had to come clean, but Yuzuru and I knew that would end our family line of prestige. We convinced Stephen that since the boy was still alive, it would all be okay. We told him that Richard would understand._

"_As a minor and a foreigner, Richard didn't have a sentence. Instead, his parents paid the boy's family what they were going to sue for, and it ended at that. But Richard felt betrayed by us. When school came back, he became an outcast. He was bullied and called "Hideaki Fujioka's Murderer," although it had been all of our faults and the man hadn't died."_

Kyouya interrupted. "Hideaki Fujioka? That's—"

"Haruhi's uncle and Hanami's biological father, yes."

Kyouya fell silent.

"_We made no effort to bring Richard back into our midst, and he saw it as hatred. He never knew that Stephen had yearned to help him and bring him back as the school's king… But we knew it would never happen. Scandal is taken to the extreme at Ouran, as you know. _

"_The school year ended and he and Stephen returned to Exeter. Word, however, had reached America and Richard was subject to judgment there as well. Without Japanese diplomats, however, Stephen was able to prove his loyalty to Richard, and helped him erase the past to the best of his ability. However, the damage had been done. Richard's childhood friend and love interest—Amelia Edwards—had been so disgusted by Richard that she avoided him for their entire senior year. She would talk to Stephen and commend him on his loyalty, but she'd always act scared at Richard, or worried for him. I suppose the anger really began brewing then. _

"_They all went to college in their own separate ways, and Amelia took a year abroad in Japan. Coincidentally, the school she studied at was the same one Hideaki attended. They fell in love, and got married. He came to the States with her. Richard saw this at a high school reunion, and was infuriated. But Stephen tried to restore his friendship with Amelia, and begrudgingly, he agreed to. _

"_He and Richard ended up working in the company that Stephen had founded—Pineapple Computations. They kept in touch with Amelia, who had supported them in their endeavors. When Fujioka died, Richard saw this as his chance to restore whatever he and Amelia might have had. But he hadn't counted on Stephen stealing her heart away from him with his kind personality. It was another insult on his injury, but this time, he kept it a secret. Instead, he put his effort into the company, trying to outshine Stephen, although this was virtually impossible. As Stephen became aware of this, he relented and gave Richard increasing amounts of credit. Whether it was to protect him or to give him hope, Stephen had good intentions._

"When Stephen died, I was shocked to hear it. He was a healthy man. But I had my suspicions. Stephen had been sending emails to Yuzuru and I, although especially me, as we had become close through the technology business. He seemed concerned for Richard's greed, and knew something was dark inside him. When his will was read, I was there… And saw the anger in his eyes despite the composure on his face when he learned that Stephen had signed away the computer conglomerate to a 16-year-old. That, I think, was the last straw. And to discover that Stephen had her sent to Ouran, under my care… You can imagine what he was like."

Kyouya was shocked to hear this part of his father's history. His father rarely spoke about himself or divulged secrets; his father's storytale indicated the gravity of the situation. Richard, to him, sounded like an emotionally immature person, perhaps with the same mental troubles that he had as a teenager. The ever-powerful desire to come to the top instead of being overshadowed by his richer counterparts… He knew it was jealousy. It was sheer jealousy, and it was now endangering everyone around Kyouya.

"So that's why you said you were entrusting me with your most important task at the moment." Kyouya stated.

"Yes."

"Thank you, Father."

"For what, Kyouya?" His father turned his weary face up. "Don't tell me you're planning to do what I think you intend to."

Kyouya smiled humorlessly. "Of course I am."

Yoshio stood up abruptly. "Kyouya. Don't do it." He came around the side of his desk. "You are the dearest thing to me and I cannot afford to see you dead."

Kyouya laughed at the lie in those words. "Don't even say that. I won't inherit the company; I know what you think of your _third son." _He spat out the last two words.

"Kyouya!" His father stood in front of him. "You were the most cheerful child. Your mother cherished you above the others. Don't do this to me.. To us."

Kyouya was struck by an odd memory; the sound of his pure laughter. He shook his head to clear it.

"I will take my leave now, Father." He turned around and left the room, leaving Yoshio to brood over his past.

* * *

Kyouya then drove to Mori's traditional Japanese home, where Hanami was resting to find peace and calm. He was invited into the home, and Mori opened the door to where Honey and Hanami were meditating to the sound falling water. "Hanami."

She turned, her fresh yukata rustling as she looked up. "Kyouya." Her eyes were big and sad, but trusting. Something moved in Kyouya's chest, and he felt warmer than before. It made him believe his mission was all the more urgent—he had to protect Hanami, this flower, before it was too late.

"Do you believe I'm one of the good guys?" He meant that in regards to his icy demeanor and ever-ready cold sarcasm.

She smiled slightly as Honey began to understand what Kyouya was going at.

"Kyo-chan… You don't have to do this. It's more dangerous!" Honey said, as Mori moved closer with his grey eyes glittering in agreement.

Hanami paused.

Kyouya waved the two seniors off and asked Hanami again.

"Of course, Kyouya. I think you're a great person."

Something shattered beneath his ribs, and he was struck by the beautiful aura surrounding Hanami. It was like the aura that surrounded Tamaki when he was playing piano—innocent, beautiful, and graceful.

"Don't forget that feeling." He covered up his emotion by assuming his tense, cold personality again, and he left the room.

"Kyouya, wait!" Hanami called, and he almost stopped, turned around, and ran to her… But that would be uncharacteristic of him, and he had something to accomplish. He walked with more conviction, and ripped open the door to his car.

He got in, and plugged in the address of the Four Seasons hotel. Then he pressed his foot to the pedal, and began to drive.


	18. Protection

**A/N: Disclaimers as usual. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW.. No silent readers please! Even anons!**

Kyouya pushed through the rotating door of the Four Seasons hotel and quickly went to the concierge to ask for Jared. As the concierge looked through the directory, Kyouya quickly scanned the building.

There, there, and there. Three cameras, and for some reason they were all fixated on him.

He knew Richard had taken over the security there the instant he wanted to have Hanami move in with Jared. He knew that Richard would have tightened it after today's press conference, from the paparazzi… And people like Kyouya.

"Sir?"

Kyouya turned.

"He's on the fifth floor in the suite at the end of the left corridor. Room 598."

Kyouya thanked the concierge, and quickly walked to the elevator.

* * *

Jared awoke from his depressed nap to the sound of loud pounding outside his hotel room door.

"Whattheshitisthis," he grumbled as he rolled off of the couch to go get the door. A magazine fell to the floor.

Jared peered through the little door viewer, but didn't see anyone there. "Is this a trick?" he grumbled, securing the behind-the-door latch lock before cracking the door open a bit. He peeked through the slit. Still nobody. Releasing the latch, he opened the door fully, and that was when a person stepped into his view.

In the split second that he saw the other man's face, Jared instantly recognized him as the other bastard who had feelings for Hanami, and his face distorted into one of rage as he tried to slam the door closed.

But to no avail.

* * *

Kyouya quickly placed his foot in the doorway while pressing the door open with his hand. For a lean person like him, he knew his strength probably shocked Jared. But he didn't have a private gymnasium and fitness trainer for no reason; in big-business, he always had to be in good shape to escape trouble.

"Let me in." Kyouya's voice came cold as ice, contrary to the exertion he was (supposedly) giving to the door.

"Never!" Jared half-choked, half-yelled. "You're the bastard who took her from me, you motherfucker!"

Kyouya winced as the memory of his mother's death came back. Why, of all times, had these memories returned with Richard Price? His arm slacked a bit and Jared was able to shut the door.

Kyouya heard several locks being set, and looked down the hallway helplessly. He hadn't felt so…out of control… since the days before the murder. He knew the Price family secret. But why did Richard have to go to all these lengths?

"Jared!" Kyouya's voice was more urgent, strained, as he pounded on the door. He knew there would be security guards soon.

He coughed, and regained his composure.

"Jared. You and I both know that it's your damned uncle who took her away from you. You KNOW it."

There was silence behind the door, and Kyouya heard no retreating footsteps.

Then a click.

The door opened.

Jared looked tired, weary, and depressed. He seemed to have given up. "Come in," he said resignedly. "Coffee's on the counter if you want some."

It struck Kyouya as remarkable that Jared was able to offer _some_ hospitality even with these circumstances. Perhaps the two weren't so different after all.

Jared threw himself on the couch and eyed the Japanese boy carefully as the other sat down gracefully.

"Now. What do you want?" Jared's voice wasn't cruel, just defeated.

Kyouya considered feigning kindness given Jared's current state, although he really didn't approve of the other.

"I need a meeting with your uncle."

Jared's expression didn't change, save for a sharp flicker in his eyes. "That's impossible."

"No, it isn't. You just need to feed him some lie."

"He'll see right through it."

"Then all the more reason for him to see me."

"No."

"He'll find it interesting. You know it."

Jared then sighed in defeat. "I don't get it. Why should I help you? Aren't you my rival for Hanami's affection?"

Kyouya was silent.

Was that it?

Was he doing all of this because Hanami was a friend?

Or did he think of her as more?

The only other person he had ever gone to such lengths to help was Tamaki, but of course that relationship was platonic. Hanami had only been in Japan for a few months, yet he had already invited her into his home.

And, it seemed his heart.

Suddenly it all made sense. The anger towards Jared. The fierce desire to keep her safe. His amusement in her happiness. And also all the comments made by his staff and the other hosts.

He wanted her. He wanted Hanami's undivided attention. He wanted to see her smile at him, laugh at him, hell, even fight back to him, if it meant she was with him. She seemed to accept him as more than the Shadow King—she was like Tamaki. She saw him as a friend; no, a dear friend. Someone they could trust. She seemed like him at times, yet he now knew that behind that tough surface, there was still a teenage girl. She was uncorrupted by the business world.

She was like his mother. A smiling face in a world of anxiety, deceit, and money.

And he had to admit, she was more than just a friend in his eyes. He saw a future with her, leading the business world together. He saw glimpses of her in a gorgeous wedding dress beside him, smiling at him, then he saw her refusing to let him dominate her without a fight. He saw little Hanamis and Kyouyas scurrying around the Ootori mansion, and he ultimately saw a woman who was the closest thing he had to an equal.

Kyouya clenched his jaw, steel in his eyes.

"Yes, Jared, I suppose I am."

Jared looked away, angry.

"Again. Why should I help you, then?"

"Because I want to see her smiling again. Don't you?"

Jared fell silent, brooding over Kyouya's words.

Kyouya tried again. "If you love her, shouldn't you protect her best interests? This isn't about me being her Prince Charming, galloping up on a white steed to save her from Richard. This is about keeping her safe, and ensuring her happiness in the future."

Jared looked up at Kyouya again, the hurt evident in his eyes. He did not want to help this bastard competitor at all… But Hanami was more important than that.

"I'll make the call."

"Thank you. Please notify my personal cell phone when you receive word." Kyouya placed his business card on the coffee table, picked up his coat, and left.

* * *

Host club activities for Hanami halted for a few days, and she spend her time in the side lounge of the Third Music Room to mindlessly do schoolwork, manage financial accounts, and sleep through troubled naps. The rest of the hosts resumed business, but the knowledge of the soulless girl behind the closed door was unsettling all of them. The guests saw that the boys were on edge, but clamored them with their appreciation of their hard work. They knew who was behind to the door, for some reason, and some Daichi fans left cards and gifts to console their favorite host.

The following Wednesday, Kyouya received a text in the middle of the freshman economics class he was the teaching assistant for. He almost disregarded it, until he saw the number. It was from the Four Seasons. He excused himself and exited the classroom, ditching an academic class for the first time in his entire life.

It was unprecedented.

_R's not in JPN. He'll speak with you in LA in 3 days. _

Kyouya quickly ordered Tachibana to take him home, where he could pack his bags and order his plane ticket.

* * *

The next day, Kyouya was absent, but Hanami seemed well enough to feign normalcy. She cringed when anyone mentioned Kyouya, however, knowing that somehow, he was gone because of her. She hoped he was safe… But she knew the only thing she could do now was rely on him and keep the host business running.

* * *

An unidentified black limousine greeted Kyouya at the Tom Bradley International Airport in Los Angeles. Richard wasn't inside, but there was a briefcase with a vaguely familiar man's picture in it, as well as a cell phone. A note, in cold, careful handwriting, indicated that Richard wanted no risks with Kyouya's own phone—it had too much Ootori-grade security in it.

The short car ride took Kyouya to the Four Seasons on Doheny Drive, and once Kyouya was in the safety of the suite provided for him, the phone rang.

Richard's voice came in, superior and amused, on the other end of the line. "Welcome to America, third Ootori son. I'm sure you've never been here on vacation. Well, here specifically. At any rate, be prepared to leave the hotel at around 6PM. A car will come by and take you to my office. Until then, enjoy the accommodations."

Kyouya could swear he heard smugness in that voice. Richard had plans, and Kyouya was unable to guess them. But he had an idea, and he didn't like it.

* * *

6:30 PM found Kyouya sitting in a rather gaudy, yet supposedly luxurious office suite. Richard, it seemed, had no idea how to effectively coordinate expensive furniture; he merely bought the most exquisite things he could find and threw them together in an expensive mess of an office. How… boorish.

"So. You came all this way, across the Pacific, out of your territory, to discuss _a girl_ with me."

Kyouya didn't respond.

"How touching."

Richard tapped his fingers together and stared at the stony-faced youth before him.

"Kyouya-kun, (can I call you that?), do you know exactly how much trouble Hanami-chan's family has caused me? Everything. They've taken everything from me. Everything I worked for, they've stripped me of. They've made my years of hard work amount to nothing. And where did that all begin? Do you know?"

Kyouya still refused to respond. He was it better to let this spiel run its course.

"Those three boys, back at Ouran. They screwed my life over.

"But now, Kyouya-kun, it's my turn. I'll take back what should have been mine. If you haven't noticed, I've already started. I've taken away Hanami's safety, and several of your hosts' happiness. Your father's too, if I might add.

"So now what? You're here to try and save her. Hmmm. I might let you go with this one."

Kyouya spoke. "I ask for safety. Hers, especially, and the others too."

Richard contemplated this.

"Kyouya, dear child, I can't guarantee everyone's safety. That would defeat the purpose of bringing all of them down, wouldn't it? But it'll be definitely Hanami unless you comply to my orders."

Kyouya eyed him. "What orders?"

Richard paused, and smiled.

"Are you willing to do this? Really?"

Kyouya nodded, his jaw tense.

"Well then. It's simple; leave that stupid club of your dithering blond friend's and isolate yourself from Hanami. Kick the bitch—"

Kyouya winced inwardly at the insult towards Hanami.

"—out of your house and isolate her from you. I fear you're getting too attached to each other, so we'll need to stop that immediately. Have Jared ready to take her to the adjoining room to his suite. It'll be that poor, lovesick boy's window of opportunity with her."

Kyouya closed his eyes, trying to keep his breath even.

"Now, let me explain why. You're in love with her, I can see that. This will hurt you, and in a sense that indirectly attacks your father. But that's not nearly enough, is it? She's in love with you, I think, and that'll hurt her and her bitch of a mother. Of course, I have other plans to enact, but I'm afraid this is all I can help you with. Because if you don't follow through, Hanami will suffer first. She's the direct descendant of 3 of my transgressors. And then it'll be your father."

Kyouya looked up sharply. "Why my father?"

Richard laughed, swaying in his chair a bit. "Silly boy. Don't you know? He's one of the first people I was able to hit. It was easy, really. Hiring that poor fellow to kill your mother, then commit suicide."

Kyouya gasped. It was the first time he had let a sound of emotion leave his lips since he was a child. "What?"

Richard feigned surprise. "Why is that so surprising for you? Didn't think I was capable? Well, now you know. So go scurry back to Japan and do as I say."

"What happens if I don't?" Kyouya challenged, his gaze even and almost as cold as Richard's.

A smile slowly grew on Richard's face. "Would you really like to find out? I think not."

* * *

**A/N: REVIEW PLEASE :D**


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